Community-based Action Research Articles

Springs Distribution and Biophysical Mapping as a Strategy to Preserve Water Sources in Semarang City, Indonesia

Springs in Semarang City, concentrated in Gunungpati District, are threatened by urbanization and massive development. It needs to be conserved through comprehensive strategies based on existing conditions. Therefore, this study aims to describe the distribution and biophysical conditions of the springs for water source conservation and sustainability. The study was conducted by identifying and mapping the biophysics condition and vegetation of 114 springs in Gunungpati District, Semarang City. The majority of the springs have low discharge volumes below 1 L/s, which is caused by ecosystem destruction around spring areas. Then, five springs were chosen for sampling, which have fairly good physics-chemical conditions and however polluted with E. coli and coliform bacteria from domestic and agricultural waste. Involving community-based conservation action through revegetating, building up water reservoir infrastructure, providing information boards, and enforcing spring protection culture can increase spring areas preservation. Furthermore, economic, social, and cultural studies on spring protection should be conducted to determine the protection zone priority, analyze the appropriate support system, and threaten potential in water sources sustainability.

Application of CHAT Analysis to a Community-Based Action Team

This study applies cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) to a community-based racial equity and social justice action group in the American South. The community action group is referred to as a “team” by participants and by its host community. The CHAT framework applied incorporates Vygotsky’s mediated action triangle and holds that learning can occur within any activity system. Using CHAT, it is possible to clarify points of tension that occurred within the action team during the community-based team’s first year of development. Reflecting on points of tension within the CHAT framework supported appropriate modifications to the team’s development. This application of the CHAT framework demonstrates ways CHAT could be applied to support leadership assessment and constructive follow-up on areas of tension in a community group, thereby contributing to group maintenance and ongoing well-being.
 Keywords: community action group, racial equity, social justice, CHAT

Film ethnography and critical consciousness: exploring a community-based action research methodology for Freirean transformation

Film ethnography is established within social development academia and praxis, but there is limited impact-evidence of its ability to positively transform participant communities through studies based on credible theoretical underpinnings. This article suggests that Paulo Freire’s ‘critical consciousness’ theory, involving self-reflection and transformation, has relevance for film ethnography because ethnographic film can present life situations back to its subjects in ways that allow people to view themselves differently. Fieldwork is presented describing the use of film ethnography as an action research methodology based on Freirean principles where vulnerable Nepali communities (whose lives and livelihoods are heavily dependent on working equines) and their equines engaged in participatory film ethnography, as part of ongoing engagement activities by project partners seeking transformation in working equine welfare and the economic stability of equine-owning communities. The broader historical theoretical underpinnings of ethnographic film are discussed, followed by a description of how they were applied in the action research. Informed by Heider the authors have resisted the temptation to define and apply ethnographic film as an absolute, but rather as ‘various attributes, or dimensions, that effect ethnographicness’ in films and filmmaking methodologies. Similarly, participation is presented as characteristics of ‘participatoryness’ utilising the Johari Window, created by psychologists Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham in 1955. Drawing on Wiek et al.’s ‘effect-capturing approach’ an evaluation methodology is described aligned to Freire’s conscientisation praxis using high levels of participant self-reflection. Initial findings do evidence some effectiveness of community-based film ethnography as an action research methodology for positive change based on Freirean methodologies, showing transformation in participant knowledge of, and behaviour towards, their equines. A longitudinal study is planned to explore whether these changes sustain into the long-term. The community transformations that have emerged from the film ethnography process offer improvement in the health and wellbeing of equines, promoting greater resilience and stability of income generation capacity within communities. Some positive enhancement of the wider socio-political environment for equine welfare is emerging through stakeholder engagement and new equine outreach services. The bespoke evaluation methodology employed contributes to the originality of the research findings and outcomes. This project has attracted interest from other Nepali social development organisations, questioning if the overall methodology is transferable to help address other social challenges in under-resourced rural areas. The authors also believe this project has opened a discussion around Freirean liberation applied to animal wellbeing, in the context of restoring humanity. Finally, the authors suggest that, by going beyond observational cinema and demonstrating ethnographic film as an action research methodology that can catalyse transformation within communities, this article presents the type of participatory praxis that Henley alludes to, offering ‘interesting possibilities for “ways of doing” ethnographic film in the twenty-first century’.

Advancing Health Equity in Community-Based Climate Action: From Concept to Practice.

Despite broad agreement that prioritizing health equity is critical to minimizing the health impacts of climate change, there is a lack of clarity about what advancing health equity means in practice. More than reducing health disparities; it also implies engaging and empowering marginalized communities. We propose a typology of health equity processes, focused on building community agency and power, and then apply it to a nonrepresentative, purposive sample of 48 community-based climate actions (CBCAs) selected from lists of projects funded by foundations and state climate programs and from other sources. All CBCAs were in the United States, community-based, active since 2015 or more recently, engaged in climate mitigation or adaptation, and stated health equity aims. Two team members reviewed project reports to assess the engagement of vulnerable and marginalized populations, agency-building, and transformation of community power relationships. Although 33 CBCAs reported efforts to build community agency, only 19 reported efforts to increase community power. City-led CBCAs showed less emphasis on agency-building and power transformation. This typology can support efforts to advance health equity by providing concrete indicators to diagnose gaps and track progress. (Am J Public Health. 2023;113(2):185-193. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.307143).

Eco-digital storytelling: Engaging historically excluded populations in environmental action through mentoring, geospatial technology, and digital media storytelling

The environment, science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics fields (a collection of fields we call E-STEAM) continue to grow and remain economically and ecologically important. However, historically excluded groups remain underrepresented in science and technology professions, particularly in environmental and digital media fields. Consequently, building pathways for historically excluded students to enter economically viable and ecologically influential E-STEAM professions is critically important. These new pathways hold promise for increasing innovation within these fields and ensuring a multiplicity of representation as these fields are shaped and reshaped to attend to the plural interests of diverse communities. Consequently, this conceptual paper describes an eco-digital storytelling (EDS) approach to engaging historically excluded populations in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This approach offers structured learning opportunities connected to learner interests and community needs with the aim of increasing E-STEAM identity and career interest of teens from groups historically excluded from E-STEAM fields. E-STEAM identity is a meaning one can attach to oneself or that can be ascribed externally by others as individuals interact and engage in E-STEAM fields in ways that foreground the environment. The EDS approach leverages community-based action, technology and digital media, and arts and storytelling as entry points for engaging learners. EDS is designed to increase teens’ content knowledge within multiple E-STEAM fields and to provide numerous technology-rich experiences in both application of geospatial technologies (i.e., GPS, interactive maps) and digital media creation (i.e., video, animation, ArcGIS StoryMaps) as a way to shape teens’ cultural learning pathways. Examples of rich digital media presentations developed to communicate the EDS approach and local environmental opportunities, challenges, and projects are provided that exemplify how both participation in and communication of environmental action can contribute to more promising and sustainable futures.

Working from the Ground Up and Participatory Action Research: An old urban neighbourhood in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT This article presents a community-based action research project in a low-income neighborhood in Hong Kong that adopted the Working from the Ground Up (WFGU) model. In the context of the neoliberal turn, the WFGU approach reminds researchers and practitioners to begin with the disadvantaged groups’ perceptions of the neighborhood and priorities for changes. The WFGU and action research process involved four phases: observation, reflection, planning, and actions. The four-year action research project indicates the potential of promoting the participation of tenants of sub-divided units (SDUs), a type of sub-standard housing in Hong Kong. The SDU tenants used Photovoice in community assessment. They critically assessed the causes of neighborhood issues and were committed to making changes collectively.

Community-based participatory climate action

Non-technical summary Improving the flow of information between governments and local communities is paramount to achieving effective climate change mitigation and adaptation. We propose five pathways to deepen participation and improve community-based climate action. The pathways can be summarized as visualization, simulations to practice decision-making, participatory budgeting and planning, environmental civic service, and education and curriculum development. These pathways contribute to improving governance by consolidating in governments the practice of soliciting and incorporating community participation while simultaneously giving communities the tools and knowledge needed to become active contributors to climate change adaptation and mitigation measures. Technical summary Community participation is considered a key component in the design of responses to climate change. Substantial engagement of local communities is required to ensure information flow between governments and communities, but also because local communities are the primary sites of adaptation action. However, frontline communities are often excluded from decision-making and implementation processes due to political choices or failures to identify ways to make participatory frameworks more inclusive. Climate action requires the active engagement of communities in making consequential decisions, or what we term deepened participation. We propose five pathways to deepen participation: visualization, simulations to practice decision-making, participatory budgeting and planning, environmental civic service, and education and curriculum development. The five pathways identify strategies that can be incorporated into existing organizational and institutional frameworks or used to create new ones. Shortcomings related to each strategy are identified. Reflection by communities and governments is encouraged as they choose which participatory technique(s) to adopt. Social media summary Climate action requires the active engagement of communities. Learn five pathways to get started deepening participation.

Abstract B078: Implementing a transdisciplinary framework to build capacity for complex collaboration among academic and non-academic partners

Abstract Complex problems require a deep understanding of the issue and a collaborative approach to find sustainable solutions. Cancer disparities are complex and must be understood from a broad set of perspectives across the academic spectrum and non-academic sources (community members, community-based organizations, and policymakers). The Community and Cancer Science Network (CCSN) is a transdisciplinary network focused on addressing statewide cancer disparities. The CCSN grounds its approach in the principles of deep equity, systems-change, and the integration of biology to policy. It brings together diverse perspectives through a three-phase model: 1) Incubate ideas through co-learning among the team members to build shared vocabulary, knowledge, and integrate perspectives on the issue; 2) Innovate by using learnings to develop, prototype and pilot potential solutions; 3) Implement to further scale and embed solutions. Despite challenges, the commitment to this approach enabled our network to expand and strengthen transdisciplinary capacity in its partnerships. Now in its third year, CCSN encompasses four projects using its transdisciplinary approach: 1) a curriculum for biomedical researchers and community members to address mistrust and misunderstandings of disparities; 2) development of a shared measurement system to improve mammographic quality; 3) design and implementation of community-based action plans to address breast and lung cancer disparities, and 4) formation of a workgroup to explore the potential causes and solutions for prostate cancer disparities in the state. The projects are guided and supported through the framework by a leadership structure. To assess the impact of its approach on community-academic partnerships, CCSN assesses against a rubric developed in 2020 with its advisory team. The rubric measures partner perception of impact, values application, belonging, interconnectedness and shared purpose. CCSN looks at quantitative and qualitative data annually to generate insights on the strength of partnerships and how its leadership can build additional capacities. CCSN is currently finalizing its assessment of its third year of data. Initial findings suggest partnerships with sustained relationships and high levels of trust appear to weather challenges that accompany implementation of complex interventions. Results also indicate that partners are eager to consider implications for their own work and to connect with others doing similar work within CCSN as they experience similar challenges including navigating the pace of change. Incorporating varied perspectives into understanding cancer disparities and then developing and implementing solutions requires a thoughtful, deliberate and flexible approach. Our framework provides rigor without rigidity and allows academics and non-academics to build authentic and collaborative relationships which persist through adversity, facilitate a richer understanding of disparities and open doors for future partnerships. Citation Format: Tobi A. Cawthra, Laura Pinsoneault, Alexis Krause, Kristen Gardner-Volle, Kim Kinner, Jenelle Elza, Melinda Stolley. Implementing a transdisciplinary framework to build capacity for complex collaboration among academic and non-academic partners [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 15th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2022 Sep 16-19; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr B078.

Coletivos organizados, ativismo social e narrativas da pandemia em territórios vulneráveis na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has reached alarming levels in Brazil. In Rio de Janeiro city, it arrived in a scenario in which Primary Health Care (PHC) was being dismantled in the midst of a political crisis, which had major impact on the most vulnerable territories. This study examined how favelas and PHC teams organised community-based action and occupy the vacuum left by the lack of public policies. The results form part of the multi-centre qualitative study “Strategies for approaching subjective and social aspects of Primary Care in the pandemic context”, using public guidance documents and 36 in-depth interviews of PHC workers and users, which were categorised into interpretive grids. Co-management initiatives by PHC workers and users were found to have arisen out of organised groups and social activism, to face the pandemic, independently of regulations from the Municipal Health Department and other government bodies. PHC figured as the only public facility in highly vulnerable territories, where armed violence was ongoing even during the pandemic.

ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND RELATED DEMENTIAS RISK AND PSYCHOSOCIAL HEALTH NEEDS OF OLDER ADULT IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES

Abstract To establish priorities for an intervention addressing Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) risk among older adult immigrants and refugees from Afghanistan and the Middle-East and North Africa (MENA). A multi-methods Community-Based Collaborative Action Research design was employed to gather qualitative and quantitative data. Twenty community leaders and stakeholders participated in interviews and community needs survey responses of 124 ethnically diverse adults over age 55 were examined. We analyzed community needs survey data using descriptive statistics. A step-wise Thematic Analysis was used to analyze interview transcripts. A major theme and standout priority was identified: needing culturally-sensitive services and resources addressing social isolation among the elderly. Other psychosocial priorities included: accessibility needs, caregiving support, safety and end-of-life resources, digital literacy, and English language services. This study exemplifies a priority-setting partnership between clinician-researchers and refugee service providers. The priorities highlighted ADRD risk factors and guide the collaborative development of a community-based intervention.

Urban seas as hotspots of stress in the Anthropocene ocean: The Salish Sea example

Coastal seas and estuaries are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth and have long attracted human activity. Yet, urbanization pressures are intense and are compounded by accelerating climate stresses. Urban seas are now hotspots of stress in the Anthropocene ocean. The Salish Sea stands out as one of a few highly functioning urban seas in the world, boasting ecological riches and thriving coastal communities and industries, including tourism. For over 10,000 years the region has supported Indigenous peoples; now it is home to a growing population of almost nine million people, concentrated in and near the major cities of Seattle, Washington, and Vancouver, British Columbia. Increasing urbanization combined with intensifying climate stress is degrading the Salish Sea and acutely affecting communities already experiencing marginalization. Current environmental impacts include acidifying waters, hypoxia, and intense heat waves, all of which have had measurable impacts within the ecosystem. A recent synthesis of this system identified key domains for solutions, which we generalize here for invoking positive change in global urban seas: 1) innovation in data collection, curation, and integration using a systems approach in science and management; 2) sharing place-based knowledge to sustain community-based action; and 3) aligning science and policy with ecosystem boundaries. The differing governance and socio-political settings across two countries and numerous Indigenous nations creates a complex challenge in ecosystem management. Developing actionable solutions for people and the biota of the Salish Sea can create a global example of a sustainably managed urban sea with transferable insights to other urban seas in need of revitalization around the world.

Setting a lived experience agenda for rural suicidality research in Canada.

The perspectives of rural communities, specifically people with lived experience of suicidality and suicide loss in rural places, are often neglected in suicide research. It is critical that rural and remote health researchers acquire a deeper understanding of suicidality in rural Canadian communities for generation of relevant knowledge to better inform the development of suicide prevention, intervention and postvention solutions. This article presents research findings of how rural residents understand their community values, what information gaps they identify in relation to current suicide research, and how research can be mobilized to reach rural communities. Researchers conducted six virtual focus groups with 47 participants from the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Newfoundland and Labrador between March and May 2021. All focus groups were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis. Focus group findings revealed the need for research that recognizes the significance of rural culture, the sense of community experienced and the ways in which they shape rural suicide experiences with associated impacts of suicide. Participatory, community-based action research methods are required to examine the interplay between rural residence, community, and suicide. In addition, the voices of rural people with lived experience of suicide are absent in the research literature. The need exists for qualitative research conducted for the purpose of investigating the lived experience of rural suicidality. Research participants asked that a lived experience agenda be prioritized to include the voices and stories of rural people, with consideration of rural culture, an aspect of rural suicidality currently not evident in Canadian research literature.

From concern to action: the founding of the Wellington Water Watchers and the battle against water bottling in Ontario, Canada

ABSTRACT In this article, we present an oral history of the founding of community-based water advocacy group in Wellington County, Ontario, to illustrate and share insights about the origins stage of community organisations and their campaigns. In 2007, a group of friends and acquaintances gathered around a kitchen table in Guelph, Ontario, to make plans for opposing for-profit water bottling in their area. Fifteen years later, the “Water Watchers” and its campaigns continue to grow from these foundations. We share a fine-grained history of the founding of this organisation and based on this story, we highlight the importance of direct inter-personal relationships, a familiarity with the local political context, and accessible, low-risk opportunities for participation to establishing momentum and an enduring collective identity around a fledgling organisation and campaign. This article will be of interest to anyone interested in the theoretical or practical dimensions of the start-up of community-based social action.

Planning and Climate Change in African Cities: Informal Urbanization and ‘Just’ Urban Transformations

The proliferation of informal settlements and growing risks of climate change across African cities pose core questions to urban planning theory and practice. Where do informal settlements fit into future climate adaptation plans? What constitutes a ‘just’ climate transformation for African urbanization? And how does a ‘just’ climate transformation address the concerns of Africans in informal settlements? We conduct a literature review to highlight the importance of local, community-based knowledge production and action in addressing African urbanization and climate change. We show how informality and climate change impact each other across diverse African cities and conduct a detailed case study based on Accra, Ghana. We argue that national and global approaches to planning for urbanization and climate change are required to strengthen local community-based knowledge production and action.

Community engagement initiative amid climate change crisis: Empirical evidence from a survey across Bangkok Metropolis of Thailand

According to the Paris Agreement on climate change regulations and Sustainable Development Goal 13, Low Carbon City, a community-based action, shall be widely used to encourage the transformation of cities by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from daily life. However, the concept of Low Carbon City requires community engagement from inhabitants, but building community engagement remains a considerable challenge, especially in low- to middle-income countries worldwide. Bangkok is one of the megacities vulnerable to climate change. This study focuses on analyzing the factors affecting the community engagement initiative to transform Bangkok into a low-carbon city. The study used a quantitative research technique with a sample size of 2000. The results reveal that 11 factors influence the success of the community engagement initiative in the transition to a low-carbon city. These critical factors include the salience on climate change, experience with climate change threats, significance of climate change, response of government officers to climate change, negative or positive emotion toward climate change, trust in the community and the municipal administration, and community affiliation, solidarity, and participation. Additionally, based on the stepwise multiple regression, statistical models were proposed to explain how the critical factors affecting community engagement transform Bangkok into a low-carbon city.

THE POWER OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FOR DELIVERING CO-CREATION VALUE (Case: Paguyuban Sentra Industri Tempe Sanan-Malang Jawa Timur)

Building community engagement involving consumers, business actors, and others stakeholders as part of a marketing strategy for creating value co-creation has become a new phenomenon. This research provides a conceptual model of community-based action to assess its impact on value co-creation and how far it affects behavioral components in order to resolve the problem (intention and actual use). The suggested model can be used to conduct research to increase product purchase intent with high community involvement. Interviews and observations have been conducted at the Sentra Industri Tempe Sanan-Malang (East Java) to accurately execute the model, whose success is supported by the community's strength in the form of the association (Paguyuban). The research was conducted in July–August 2021 with the participation of 30 locals. The findings of the initial identification strongly support employing the suggested model in subsequent studies. Keywords: Actual Purchase, Behaviour, Community Engagement, Intention to repurchase, Value Co-creation.

SCALING UP POSITIVE PARENTING PRACTICES IN UGANDA: RESEARCH EVIDENCE FROM AN INTEGRATED COMMUNITY-LED INITIATIVE FOR REDUCING VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN IN LIRA DISTRICT, NORTHERN UGANDA

Community-based action research is increasingly gaining traction in development work, partly because of its benefits in contextualizing societal problems and “handing over the stick” to the communities; that is, researchers listen, question, and learn as the experts (the community members) identify their problems and define the change they desire. This research approach, therefore, empowers communities and is a shift from traditional research where the researcher presupposes that deductions about a phenomenon are to be made outside the natural environment. This research paper documents the use of participatory learning and action approaches in designing, implementing, and monitoring interventions to prevent violence against children in post-conflict northern Uganda, a region that suffered through the Lord’s Resistance insurgency from 1987 to 2006.

Differential Impact Analysis for Climate Change Adaptation: A Case Study from Nepal

Following a case study, community adaptation plans are a bottom-up approach that focus on increasing climate-vulnerable communities’ engagement in local adaptation planning and policy design, prioritization, and implementation in Nepal. This paper explains how Community-Based Adaptation Action Plan (CAPA) groups are being studied to assess the climate vulnerability of the local socio-ecosystem and to develop community-level adaptation measures. However, there is insufficient research to differentiate local vulnerabilities caused by climate change. This paper, therefore, examines climate change vulnerability with respect to community vulnerability and potential adaptation measures to increase community resilience and adaptive capacity through CAPAs. The study compares differences by gender, caste/ethnicity, and wealth in relation to specific climate-related hazards (exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity) of communities. The study draws on secondary sources of information along with field observations, 73 household interviews, 13 key-informant interviews, consultations, and 9 interactive meetings in 3 districts of Nepal. Differential impact analysis refers to the exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of local socio-ecological systems. In addition, multivariate analysis was conducted using the Canoco program to analyze the role of actors with respect to climate vulnerability. The results conclude that the degree of vulnerability varies widely at the household level and is strongly influenced by socio-economic characteristics such as gender, caste/ethnicity, and wealth. Immediate and focused attention is needed to improve access to government resources for vulnerable households, requiring positive support from decision makers. Equally important is improving the chain of communication, which includes information, skills, knowledge, capacity, and institutional arrangements. Analysis of the differential vulnerability and the adaptive capacity of a vulnerable community is more appropriate for the design of local adaptation plans. Therefore, the study suggests that engagement of local partners, including local authorities, in addressing vulnerability and adaptation is required to confront the social process, new institutional arrangements, local adaptation, and capacity-building with technical solutions.

Ante-Litteram One Health in India Three Examples of Community-Based Debate and Action on Multispecies Wellbeing

Historical research on One Health is offering interesting information about the development of this concept within human and animal health institutions and professions. In contrast, little is known about whether and how local communities have discussed – in their own terms – and managed One Health issues. This paper presents three examples of community-led debate and action on One Health in India: the eco-religion of Bishnois, the collapse of the vulture population, and plastic pollution in cows’ bodies. More research from the social sciences and the humanities is necessary to understand and learn from the dynamics of multispecies entanglements at the local level.

Impacts of Dams on Freshwater Turtles: A Global Review to Identify Conservation Solutions

Background and Research Aims Dams impact freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity. Freshwater turtles are at direct and indirect risk due to changes caused by damming including the loss of terrestrial and aquatic nesting habitats, changes to food availability, and blocking movement. Effective management of these impacts requires robust evidence in order to gain an understanding of conservation solutions that work. Methods We reviewed the global scientific literature that evaluated the impact of dams on freshwater turtles, and carried out additional searches of literature published in seventeen languages for studies evaluating actions to mitigate dam impacts. Results The search produced 47 published articles documenting dam impacts on 30 freshwater turtle species from seven families (Chelidae, Chelydridae, Emydidae, Geoemydidae, Kinosternidae, Podocnemididae, and Trionychidae) in 13 countries. Few studies were found from Europe and Asia and none from Africa. Most studies were from temperate latitudes, where studies focused more on adults and less threatened species compared with tropical latitudes. More than half of the studies (57%, n = 27) suggested actions to help mitigate dam impacts. Yet, only five studies (three temperate and two tropical) documented the effect of interventions (dam removal, flow management, artificial pond maintenance and community-based action). Conclusion These findings demonstrate a serious lack of documented evidence evaluating mitigation actions for dam impacts on freshwater turtles. Implications for Conservation This lack of evidence reinforces the importance of strengthening and maintaining robust long-term studies needed to develop effective and adaptive conservation actions for this group of threatened vertebrates particularly in tropical regions.