Session: Advancing Community-Based Participatory Research Methods with Latinx Communities: Qualitative Innovations In Engagement, Adaptation, and Action (Society for Social Work and Research 31st Annual Conference)

This symposium presents four methodologically innovative CBPR studies that each grapple with the current challenges in distinct and effective ways, and will feature a preeminent methodologist as discussant. Spanning immigrant communities in Maryland, California, Texas, and New Mexico, these studies share a profound commitment to centering immigrant community expertise, adapting methods to contemporary constraints, and promoting action that supports democracy.

Methods: The first paper (Maryland) introduces the Trauma-Informed Empathetic Inquiry (TIEI) framework, which pairs Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis with self psychology and arts-based prompts (N = 10) and was conducted in trusted, non-stigmatizing spaces. The second paper (California) documents the experiences of 30 Latinx immigrant women through pláticas comunitarias, using encrypted digital storytelling tools so participants could narrate their lives without fear of surveillance. The third (Texas) uses community-based participatory action research to culturally adapt an attachment-based intervention for recently arrived mothers and adolescents from Latin America, applying the ADAPTT-ITT framework to 32 interviews, 3 focus groups, and 2 rounds of intervention theater testing with families in shelter settings. The final paper (New Mexico) reports on a five-year CBPR initiative that engaged over 400 participants across four phases and led to the launch of a statewide collaborative of immigrant-serving organizations.

Results: Several findings cut across all four papers. Innovative, culturally grounded methods elicited deeper engagements than conventional approaches. The TIEI framework fostered a sense of dignity and recognition during the interview process, and the plática format enabled deep disclosures. The use of encrypted documentation tools was identified as a meaningful safeguard that supported participation by individuals who might otherwise have declined. Iterative co-design with community partners improved not just cultural fit but also feasibility, particularly for families in shelters and under-resourced rural settings. Finally, sustained and authentic CBPR can do more than just produce findings, but result in concrete and meaningful actions.

Implications and Conclusion: With the scholarly expertise of a leading methodologist as discussant, this symposium positions CBPR not as a discrete method but as a methodological orientation that reshapes inquiry with Latinx communities and extends inquiry toward action. This work centers CBPR as a necessary orientation for producing knowledge in the service of democracy, and to the benefit of society as a whole.