Developing an Original Methodological Framework for Community-Based Participatory Research in Nigerian Public Health Settings

Community-based participatory research represents a methodological paradigm with significant potential for public health knowledge generation in Nigeria, yet its application to Nigerian cultural, institutional, and ethical contexts requires original methodological development that existing CBPR literature from North American and European settings does not adequately provide. This study developed an original methodological framework for community-based participatory research in Nigerian public health settings. The framework development employed a four-stage approach. Stage one conducted a critical review of 56 CBPR publications from Nigerian and sub-Saharan African contexts (2015 to 2024), mapping how CBPR principles were adapted, applied, and evaluated across different settings. Stage two conducted meta-ethnographic synthesis of methodological challenges documented across 22 Nigerian CBPR studies to identify recurrent adaptation needs. Stage three applied and refined the emerging framework through a two-year pilot CBPR study on child nutrition in three communities in Nasarawa, Imo, and Oyo States. Stage four validated the framework through consensus workshops involving 30 community research partners, public health researchers, and research ethics specialists. The Nigerian CBPR Methodological Framework proposes six original adaptations to standard CBPR principles: traditional leadership engagement as a research legitimacy prerequisite, religious institution ethical review as a supplementary community consent mechanism, communal knowledge ownership protocols adapted for Nigerian intellectual property contexts, politically sensitive topic navigation procedures for federally contested health issues, multi-ethnic research partnership formation guidance, and sustainability beyond research project lifecycle planning. The framework constitutes an original methodological contribution to participatory health research in Africa.