Engaging and supporting Community Researchers in Low and Middle-Income Countries:  An Integrative Review

TL;DR

This review explores how community researchers in low- and middle-income countries are recruited, trained, and supported, highlighting both the benefits and challenges of their involvement in research.

Contribution

The study provides a comprehensive synthesis of existing research on community researchers in LMICs, emphasizing ethical and practical considerations for their engagement.

Findings

Community researchers help build trust and uncover culturally relevant insights in research.

CRs often gain confidence, skills, and better job prospects through their involvement.

Challenges include limited training, emotional stress, and cultural barriers in LMICs.

Abstract

The objectives of this integrative systematic review were to describe how community researchers (CRs) in low-and middle-income country (LMIC) settings are recruited, trained and supported in research projects, to identify facilitators, challenges and impacts of involving CRs, and to explore CRs’ own experiences of conducting research. Primary research studies, of any study design and in any language, that provided insights into the recruitment, training, facilitators, barriers, impacts or experiences of CRs in LMICs were included in the review. Search strategies included database searches and backward and forward chaining. Seven databases were searched on 5th November 2024 without date or language limits: Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, SocINDEX, Web of Science and Global Index Medicus. Quality assessment of included studies was conducted using the Mixed-Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). Qualitative synthesis of the findings was undertaken using a reflexive thematic approach. Overall, 39 papers reporting 27 studies were included in the review. Findings were synthesised over four themes: (1) recruitment, engagement and support; (2) benefits and challenges to the community researchers and communities; (3) benefits and challenges to the research; (4) ethics of engagement. The benefits of using CRs include facilitating access to marginalised groups, reducing power differentials between participants and research teams, and eliciting more authentic and culturally relevant data. Participation can enhance CRs’ confidence, future employment opportunities, and can foster broader positive community change. However, the findings of this review also raise concerns around ethical practices in involving CRs, the negative emotional impact on CRs, and equitable compensation, particularly in LMIC contexts where there are structural inequalities, limited resources, and sociocultural challenges. To maximise the benefits and minimise the harms, research teams must adopt more thoughtful and inclusive approaches to involving CRs in research projects, particularly around recruitment, training, support and fair remuneration.

This study presents the findings from a systematic review that aimed to identify and summarise all existing research that explores how ‘community researchers’ (CRs) – local people trained to conduct research within their own communities – are involved in research projects across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We wanted to find out how CRs were recruited, trained and supported and the benefits and challenges of using CRs in research. We searched for relevant studies in seven databases. Overall, 39 papers reporting 27 studies were included. We found that CRs often assist with identifying research topics, collecting and analysing data, and sharing findings with their communities. CRs can build trust, uncover issues that outsiders may overlook, and can give communities a voice in research. Many CRs gain confidence, new skills, and better job prospects. However, there are challenges when working with CRs, including limited training, emotional stress, and risks related to safety or community distrust. In LMICs, resource constraints and cultural barriers can make it harder to support these researchers effectively. Our work highlights the need for clear guidance on selecting, training, and supporting CRs to ensure their work is meaningful and ethical.

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