Participatory Health Research in Latin America: Scientific Production on Chronic Diseases

Abstract

Since the early 1980s, participatory health research has been applied in the health field in Latin America; however, there is little knowledge about the approaches, directions, and specific types of participatory research related to chronic diseases. Thus, our aim in this chapter is to examine the participatory health research carried out on chronic noncommunicable diseases in the Latin American countries. We divided the chapter into three sections. The first describes the origins and emergence of participatory research and its variants in the region; the second gives an account of previous literature reviews on participatory health research; and the third is a review of 26 articles that use such research and focuses on chronic conditions. We identified four approaches: participatory action research, action research, community-based participatory research, and participatory research. The community’s participants were chronically sick people and their families as well as health workers and university staff working in the health services. The main aim of the participation was to change health knowledge and behaviors regarding risk factors and chronic conditions, and the nature of participation was passive in the form of consultation. We conclude that participatory action research has been displaced in the reviewed studies, since action research and participatory research have become the most commonly used approaches in the region.