Abstract
BackgroundIn sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), which experiences a disproportionately high cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden, population-based screening and prevention measures are hampered by low levels of knowledge about CVD and associated risk factors, and inaccurate perceptions of severity of risk.MethodsThis protocol describes the planned processes for implementing community-driven participatory research, using a citizen science method to explore CVD risk perceptions and to develop community-specific advocacy and prevention strategies in the rural and urban SSA settings. Multi-disciplinary research teams in four selected African countries will engage with and train community members living in rural and urban communities as citizen scientists to facilitate conceptualization, co-designing of research, data gathering, and co-creation of knowledge that can lead to a shared agenda to support collaborative participation in community-engaged science. The emphasis is on robust community engagement, using mobile technology to support data gathering, participatory learning, and co-creation of knowledge and disease prevention advocacy.DiscussionContextual processes applied and lessons learned in specific settings will support redefining or disassembling boundaries in participatory science to foster effective implementation of sustainable prevention intervention programmes in Low- and Middle-income countries.
Highlights
In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), which experiences a disproportionately high cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden, population-based screening and prevention measures are hampered by low levels of knowledge about CVD and associated risk factors, and inaccurate perceptions of severity of risk
This paper describes the processes for conducting a research that will engage members of the communities and beneficiaries as ‘citizen scientists’ to participate and lead in research initiatives
The important steps and the lessons learned in specific settings will support effective participation in research that will enable countries to identify and promote prevention programmes that are culturally suitable in low-income communities in Africa
Summary
Theoretical framework The planning of this study has been based on the principles of PAR and citizen science, which overlap both in terms of philosophy and research methodology. The purpose of PAR is to foster capacity, community development, empowerment, access and social justice, and it has been widely used in public health, education, community development, agriculture and social work [27]. It is seen as a transformative process whereby researchers and participants co-create knowledge while developing a sense of community, educating each other by negotiating meanings and raising consciousness [17, 28]. These involve a systematic process that will begin with community engagement and consultation meetings, fact-finding survey, and focus group
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