Community-based participatory research: An opportunity to address policies affecting Latino LGBT populations

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches have been proven to facilitate community involvement in research and to support analyses that can potentially influence policy making. Nonetheless, there is limited research on the use of CBPR among Latino lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) populations and its applicability to address policies of their interest. A CBPR approach was used to conduct a study with a sample of LGBT people in Puerto Rico (PR). The implementation provided to identify priorities for the well-being of LGBT communities in PR and to demonstrate the feasibility of conducting CBPR to inform policies affecting the priorities identified by research participants. An academic-community partnership supported the identification of research questions as well as study design, data collection, analysis and dissemination. The three main issues affecting LGBT well-being in PR as documented by research participants (n=227) were same-sex marriage (67.0%), protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation at work (66.5%), and rights for same same-sex couples to adopt (48.0%). Results evidenced the feasibility and usefulness of CBPR approaches to identify needs among a disenfranchised sample of Latinos in PR. Further, this approach facilitated for a participatory process of research design and policy development. The research experience built collaborations, evidenced the needs of the communities involved, and supported system-level interventions to reduce inequities. Future research activities are suggested to assess the feasibility of conducting CBPR among other Latino populations made vulnerable.