Creating a Virtual Indigenist Community-Based Participatory Approach: Lessons Learned from Centering Urban Native Young Women in Research

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) focuses on building relationships between academic and community partners. Indigenist CBPR (ICBPR) expands CBPR to elevate Native voices and center Native priorities in research. This approach, however, has historically been grounded in in-person connection and collaboration. Native WYSE (Women, Young, Strong, and Empowered) making CHOICES (NWC) is an alcohol-exposed pregnancy (AEP) prevention mobile health intervention designed with and for urban Native young women nationally in the U.S. NWC was designed prior to the pandemic and planned to leverage social media and other technological resources to engage this population in AEP prevention. NWC was delivered via mobile app and evaluated within a virtual randomized controlled trial (RCT), administered fully through technology, including recruitment, intervention administration, and data collection. We pursued four main ICBPR-informed research strategies for meaningful virtual connection with urban Native young women and their communities within this RCT: social media presence, Native oversight and review, urban Native young women’s participation in all phases of research, and partnership with Native-serving organizations. We assessed the alignment of these virtual research strategies with the ICBPR framework. Each strategy aligns with several ICBPR elements and overall suggests virtual research can be meaningful and community-centered with appropriate planning. Planning for leadership turnover and long-term engagement are two elements not accommodated by our strategies, but discussed. Building an authentic social media presence proves to be an important virtual strategy in research with Native communities and may have the ability to empower commonalities of Native people’s intergenerational strengths and their cultural and scientific methodologies. Finally, CBPR-informed virtual research approaches may amplify reach and create spaces for Native youth to feel safe and supported to give voice in research efforts. Trial registration number: NCT04376346 (May 5, 2020)