Community-based research: a tool for community empowerment and student learning.

Teaching Nursing Research is most often done close to the end of the student's educational experience. This article describes Northeastern University College of Nursing's experience using community-based research projects as a method of teaching nursing concepts and skills to beginning nursing students. By using Paulo Freire's model of Community Empowerment, a group of inner-city teens developed a drug awareness manual that is used to teach elementary school students about drugs and drug use. Through this model, students also learn that healthcare is a partnership among individuals, communities and professionals.