Principles of Community Engagement (Second Edition)

Applications of Principles of Community Engagement: The DPBRN exempli-
fies several principles of community engagement For example, community
practitioners are coming together with academicians to develop and answer
relevant research questions that can directly affect daily clinical practice By
engaging dentists in private practice, the network is able to reach the site of
dental care for concentrated groups of patients and to conduct research that
spans the geographic, cultural, social, and rural/urban diversity of different
patient populations This ability to connect with different groups is congruent
with the diversity required by Principle 6 Researchers are partnering with
the DPBRN in a way that allows for practitioners in the community, who
traditionally are outside of academic institutions, to participate in all stages
of research (Principle 5) This can not only close the gap between academic
and community practices but also empower the dentists to name the research
questions and participate in the quest for solutions This acknowledges
Principle 4, which reminds researchers that no external entity can bestow on
a community the power to act in its own self-interest
References
Gilbert GH, Williams OD, Rindal DB, Pihlstrom DJ, Benjamin PL, Wallace MC
The creation and development of the dental practice-based research network
Journal of the American Dental Association 2008;139(1):74-81
Makhija S, Gilbert GH, Rindal DB, Benjamin PL, Richman JS, Pihlstrom DJ
Dentists in practice-based research networks have much in common with
dentists at large: evidence from the Dental Practice-Based Research Network
General Dentistry 2009;57(3):270-275
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