ABSTRACT
An overview of the concept of community participation in primary health care is provided, as well as a description of partnerships with migrants. Community participation in primary health care involves a wide variety of activities, some of which involve clinical primary care services. The Ethics Office of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, in conjunction with its Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health, has developed guidelines to assist the development of research partnerships that facilitate and encourage mutually beneficial, culturally competent research. Findings from a study that analysed factors that promoted or inhibited community participation activities in primary health care, were used to produce a theoretical Framework for Community Participation in Primary Health Care. Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) is a useful methodology with groups where there are asymmetries of power, such as those that exist between migrants and their health care providers. PLA involves a combination of a mode of engagement and techniques.
