Community-based Project Research Articles

"That's like therapy"-A qualitative study on socially disadvantaged women's views on the effects of a community-based participatory research project on their health and health behavior.

Regular physical activity has positive effects on both physical and mental health. Nevertheless, socially disadvantaged women are often insufficiently physically active. Through needs-based physical activity offers, community-based participatory research (CBPR) projects have the potential to reach these women and increase the effectiveness of physical activity interventions by supporting women's empowerment, health, and health behaviors. This study aimed to examine socially disadvantaged women's views on the effects of long-term participation in Bewegung als Investition in Gesundheit (BIG, i.e., movement as an investment in health), a long-standing German CBPR project, on their health and health behavior. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 30 participating women at five BIG sites across Germany between April and August 2022. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using framework analysis. Women reported that participation in BIG classes contributed to their physical, mental, and social health. For many women, the positive effects on their mental and social wellbeing were most important. In addition to increased fitness and improved physical endurance, many participating women were able to expand their social networks, thus receiving further social support, and improve their self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-efficacy. Furthermore, participation in BIG physical activity classes positively influenced the health awareness of many women helping them to improve their activity level and diet over time. Our results suggest that CBPR projects, such as the BIG project, can increase physical activity among socially disadvantaged groups and contribute to their overall health and wellbeing. CBPR projects could thus be considered a key element of health promotion for this target group. Future interventional research is required to confirm and further explore the effects of CBPR interventions and to examine whether the effects can be replicated in other settings.

Locked out, but not disconnected: multilingual community engagement in Australia

ABSTRACT At the onset of COVID-19, many Local Government Areas (LGAs) indicated they were struggling to communicate effectively with multilingual migrant communities. Communities were isolated from vital LGA support due to factors including the digital divide, barriers to language access, and top-down communication strategies. The pandemic also provided insights into the ways migrant communities mitigate hardship by engaging in placemaking and place-shaping, using existing networks and resources to provide vital support during crisis, which requires significant invisible labour. In this article, we present three case studies from a larger community-based project which began in early 2020 with an LGA in Western Australia. We use case narratives to illustrate and analyse three common actions migrant women used to engage their communities prior to, and during, COVID-19 recovery. These simple, yet profound actions, which include visiting communities, acknowledging challenges, and identifying opportunities further evidence the ways community leaders facilitate culturally sustaining placemaking, even during crisis; they underscore the intense emotional, cultural, and linguistic labour required to enact support in contexts where resources are inaccessible or misaligned with community stories. We argue it is only in partnership with communities that LGAs can learn to address some of the long-standing issues COVID-19 highlights.

Original ecology folksongs, myth, and showbiz: a case study of musical sustainability among the Bulang ethnic group in Yunnan, China

ABSTRACT This study explores a community-based cultural protection project among the Bulang ethnic group in several villages located in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province, southwest China. In 2008, ‘Bulang’s traditional singing and instrument playing’ (Bulangzu tanchang) was listed for protection under China’s intangible cultural heritage regulatory measures. This study documents Bulang musical heritage, explores the link between mythology and music, and analyses whether modern social changes endanger musical traditions or give rise to new aesthetics. It adopts an ethnomusicological perspective, focusing on sustainability amid the commodification of ethnicity for showbiz through staged performances for tourists. The fieldwork ranges from virtual digital spaces to the established ethnographic technique of participant observation. Fieldwork in Menghai village examines how the Bulang people represent themselves in media, stage performances, and popular music, negotiating and reshaping their musical identity. This study emphasises the relationship between the stage performances of ‘original ecology folksongs’ in media and the sustainability of Bulang music, with insights for the politics of intangible cultural heritage.

Solar Panels, Euler’s Method and Community-based Projects: Connecting Differential Equations with Climate Change

Solar Panels, Euler’s Method and Community-based Projects: Connecting Differential Equations with Climate Change

Lived Experiences of Probationers towards Community-based Correction Program: A Qualitative Study

This study explores the real-world experiences of probationers who take part in Ozamiz City community programs. The study uses a qualitative approach to investigate the viewpoints, difficulties, and results that probationers experience when participating in community-based projects. The study uses thematic analysis to identify and investigate major themes that surface from the narratives of probationers, providing insight into how they interact with programs for rehabilitation, reintegrate into society, and perceive support systems. The following are the generated themes: (1) Personal Growth and Self-Discipline, (2) Community Integration and Belonging, (3) Guidance and Support from Probation Officers, and (4) Skills Development and Employment Readiness. In this study, the researcher analyzed the data using the narrative and phenomenology methods of Moustakas for the gathering of information through open-ended and conversational communication. The research is to contribute to the creation of more responsive and effective interventions that are suited to the requirements and realities of probationers in Ozamiz City by clarifying these lived experiences.

Rethinking Sustainability for Foreign-Funded Community-Based Projects (CBPS) in Low-Income Countries

Rethinking Sustainability for Foreign-Funded Community-Based Projects (CBPS) in Low-Income Countries

Pan-Canadian review of community-based monitoring projects and their capacity to enhance environmental monitoring programs for cumulative effects assessments

While community-based monitoring (CBM) can support meaningful participation of the public in environmental decision-making, it remains unclear if and how CBM can support western science approaches to biophysical studies within cumulative effects assessment (CEA). We scored 40 Canadian CBM projects on their ability to enhance CEA's western science approaches to environmental monitoring. We used multivariate analyses to determine if the highest-scoring projects shared characteristics that could inform the design of CBMs to support CEA. Cluster analysis and non-metric multi-dimensional scaling ordination revealed that highest-scoring projects were distinct from lower scoring projects, and the Similarity Percentages Routine identified characteristics that differentiated these projects. The highest-scoring projects involved non-profit organizations as bridging organizations that coordinated community participation and received funding and in-kind support from provincial/territorial government agencies. Participants in these projects collected measurements and samples using standardized protocols described in training manuals. Their data were publicly accessible in georeferenced databases and were used for baseline studies and resource management. There are existing CBM projects in Canada that thus appear well positioned to enhance western science approaches to CEA. Further study is required to identify how CBM projects can be designed to braid Indigenous and western science approaches to mutually enhance CEA methods.

Exploring the Entrepreneurial Micro-Ecosystem: Agribusiness Among Youth in Rural South Africa

In recent times, entrepreneurial ecosystems have increasingly being researched and seen as a vehicle for empowerment and poverty alle-viation by policy-makers, particularly in developing economies. Scholars have primarily studied this concept in developed markets, with a focus on urban regions in those markets. However, in the South African context, there is an increasing realization that entrepreneurship among youth in small towns and villages is key in unlocking economic development and self-sustainability in those areas. Thus, research in these regions is necessary for deeper understanding and scholarly engagement into the entrepreneurial ecosystems emerging among youths. In addressing insufficient attention to small town and village entrepreneurship ecosystems, a conceptual comparative-case study of three agribusinesses in rural Eastern Cape province of South Africa was conducted. Thus, the research examines how and to what extent entrepreneurial activities among youth in rural areas manifested in promising agribusinesses within a short space of time, after being affected by Covid-19 lockdowns. The findings depicted that (a) agribusiness is key in rural areas and among youth, (b) rural communities engage in community-based agricultural projects to encourage self-sustainability and entrepreneurship, and (c) there is a need for a more focused support by policy-makers in these areas for them to flourish and open more markets.

“How I transformed myself”: youth, HIV prevention and the contribution of community-based social projects in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

O artigo analisa os possíveis efeitos de projetos sociais desenvolvidos na década de 2000, em uma favela do Rio de Janeiro, na trajetória de vida e cuidado da saúde sexual e reprodutiva dos participantes. Foram entrevistados cinco mulheres e cinco homens egressos/as dessas intervenções. Segundo os resultados, a abordagem dos direitos humanos e desigualdades sociais e de gênero somada à participação juvenil e parcerias institucionais, assim como à expansão de políticas públicas para jovens no país, colaboraram para que seus integrantes tivessem relações de gênero mais igualitárias, postergassem a maternidade/paternidade e adotassem práticas preventivas ao HIV/IST. Ademais, favoreceram o acesso ao Ensino Superior, a melhoria das condições socioeconômicas e influenciaram suas escolhas profissionais. Tais resultados podem orientar a implementação de ações diante do aumento de casos de HIV/Aids entre jovens e do desmonte de políticas públicas para saúde sexual e reprodutiva.

Vulnerability in Inclusive Research: Exploring Co- and Professional Researchers’ Experiences in a Community-Based Participatory Project on the Disability Family

In the transition to a less protectionist research ethics paradigm—in which vulnerable groups are no longer excluded from participating in research—academic researchers need to think differently about vulnerability. By means of a collective autoethnographic investigation of professional and co-researcher’s experiences in a community-based participatory research (CBPR) project, this article explores how vulnerability is experienced and perceived in the work process and how to respond to vulnerability. It finds that vulnerability manifests in two main ways—that of feeling “emotional hurt” and “epistemic self-doubt”—and that it comes from two main layers: the lived life and from working within CBPR. The main argument in the article is that vulnerability is inevitable in qualitative research like CBPR, when involving persons in vulnerable life situations. We propose four key recommendations for future research: (a) accept vulnerability as an inevitable part of CBPR, (b) balance protection with participant autonomy in situ and together as a team, (c) use a processual approach because ethical risks in the research context might alter over time, and (d) accept that placing co-researchers at the center of interpretative authority can increase professional researcher’s vulnerability. The article expands existing understandings of ethical issues and risk in inclusive research through a combined and innovative focus on both professional and co-researcher’s lived experiences.

Developing a Menopausal Transition Health Promotion Intervention With Indigenous, Integrative, and Biomedical Health Education: A Community-Based Approach With Urban American Indian/Alaska Native Women.

Few studies have examined the menopausal transition in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women; these reports indicate they are the most likely group to report bothersome vasomotor symptoms (VMS). Evidence demonstrates VMS may be a biomarker for chronic diseases. Thus, evidence-based interventions to improve VMS and other symptoms and health-screening rates for urban midlife AI/AN women are needed. The objectives of this community-based project were to form a Community Advisory Board (CAB) with whom to: 1) conduct CAB meetings (similar to a focus group) with midlife AI/AN women to understand their lived health care experiences and needs during the menopausal transition; and 2) obtain guidance in creating a tailored intervention. Eligible participants indicated they were registered members of American Indian Tribes, self-identified as a woman, aged 35 or older, and were recruited through the Urban Indian Center of Salt Lake and community outreach. Three CAB meetings were conducted via Zoom. A qualitative-descriptive approach was used for analysis, with the aim of staying close to the data to understand AI/AN women's experiences and needs. Transcripts were iteratively coded using content/thematic analysis. Four themes emerged: 1) lack of and desire for information about the menopause transition; 2) barriers to accessing care; 3) matriarchal priorities impacting personal health outcomes; and 4) preferences for Indigenous and integrative medicine as first-line interventions, followed by conventional medicine. Among this sample of urban AI/AN women, there was a great need for and interest in information about menopause, both for themselves and for their daughters and family. Integrative and Indigenous approaches were preferred. Proposed next steps include developing and pilot-testing a nurse-delivered health-education intervention with Indigenous, integrative, and conventional medical content.

Sustainability of Knowledge and practice regarding disasters among people living in flood-prone areas of Nepal

The main objective of this study is to examine the sustainability of knowledge and practice regarding disasters among people living in flood-prone areas of Nepal. Data for this survey were collected through a cross-sectional research design using a quantitative method. CARE Nepal and Handicap International implemented a community-based disaster risk reduction VISTAR project in Nepal’s Kailali, Dadeldhura, Kanchanpur, and Dang districts. The study used the baseline, end-line, and mainly post-project sustainability (PPS) survey data for detailed analysis. The study was conducted in four rural municipalities/municipalities of the Sudurpashchim Province. Univariate, Bivariate, and multivariate analyses (binary logistic regression) were applied to examine the sustainability of knowledge and practice regarding disasters among people living in flood prone areas of Nepal. It was observed that slightly over two-thirds of the respondents (67.5%) were female, while nearly one-third (32.5%) of them were male. More than one-fourth (27.5%) of the respondents were from the 25-34 age group, followed by one-fourth (25.1%) from the 35-44 age group. Knowledge of various types of disasters had increased for all types in the end-line (24.5 in the baseline to 32.9 in the end line) and showed sustainability in the PPS study (44.08) on average. Only less than a fourth (24%) of respondents reported the Household (HH) level plan requirement to mitigate the effect of disaster. Multivariate analysis found that respondents whose caste/ethnicity was Dalit (aOR= 1.3, 95% CI=0.7 2.23) and Janjati (aOR= 1.37, 95% CI=0.7 – 2.67) were more likely to know about the requirement of the HH level plan to mitigate the effect of a disaster than Brahmin/Chettri. Likewise, respondents whose primary source of income was small business/service were 3 times (aOR= 3.58, 95% CI= 1.46- 8.81) more likely to know about the requirement of the HH level plan to, mitigate the effect of a disaster than those whose source of income was agriculture. Knowledge of the type of disaster and the need for a household-level plan to mitigate disaster is very low. Thus, programs that advocate the importance of following disaster mitigation measures at the community and household level should be targeted to motivate people to be self-equipped to tackle possible disaster incidents.

The role of stakeholder structure in fostering community ownership: A case study of community-based projects.

Community health projects have played a crucial role in improving health issues. Listening to communities' voices and achieving community ownership are essential for conducting effective health projects. However, there are limited studies on the frameworks for collecting, aggregating, and operationalizing community preferences and values. In this study, we selected two cases of community field surveys from Japan and Cambodia to discuss who may represent a community and propose a practical approach to achieving community ownership. Both cases involved various stakeholders. From the insights of these two cases, we suggested the following three key components in the community project: the community representative, the communicator, and the institute outside the community. Notably, the community representative's role as the community's direct voice should be properly recognized and institutionalised to establish community ownership. We proposed the following key terms of the qualifications of community representatives: they should be able to represent voices from the community, should have extensive experience to decide the project direction and manage the project, and should be independent of outside actors. Our theoretical model of the structure of different stakeholder groups in community-based projects will be helpful to accelerate community capacity strengthening; moreover, it can help build the appropriate community institution and process, including multi-stakeholder groups to promote community ownership in health programs.

Developing a Statewide Strategy for Meaningful Youth Engagement: Insights from a Youth-Driven Program in Wisconsin.

There are various ways to integrate the lived experiences and perspectives of youth and young adults into Maternal Child Health (MCH) goals, initiatives, and programs. This article describes the history, evolution, and current strategy of a program that engages youth from across the state of Wisconsin. It serves as an example for others who may be interested in building capacity for youth leadership and engagement. The Providers and Teens Communicating for Health (PATCH) Program started as a community-based pilot project and evolved into a robust statewide youth engagement infrastructure. Meaningful youth engagement requires capacity, adaptability, and expertise. Thus, in this case, it has proven advantageous to develop complementary and mutually beneficial partnerships to support adolescent health more effectively and efficiently in Wisconsin.

CONDUCTING COMMUNITY-BASED GERONTOLOGY PROJECTS IN UNDERGRADUATE CLASSROOMS: CAPSTONE CASE STUDIES

Abstract Collaborations between university-level students and community-based organizations have long shown to be mutually beneficial in that they can address pressing community needs, advance the mission of the organization, and enhance the learning of students. In this presentation, I describe project collaborations between a non-profit volunteer caregiving organization based in Ventura County (“Caregivers”) and Health Science undergraduate students (N = 76) enrolled in Capstone courses at California State University Channel Islands between 2022-2023. Projects were designed utilizing a community-based approach wherein the community partner (“Caregivers”) played an active and central role in determining project goals and outcomes. Four projects, each addressing and/or serving a specific need, were completed by different Capstone sections: (1) the creation of an online governance training program to educate high school and university students on the basics of leadership in nonprofits which serve older adults; (2) the creation of a series of videos to educate on and advocate for volunteer caregiving; (3) the analysis of quantitative and qualitative survey data to evaluate the experiences and satisfaction levels of local volunteer caregivers and care recipients; and (4) the creation of a toolkit to be used by volunteer caregiving organizations implementing community meal delivery programs for older adults. In this presentation, I detail each project along with their major successes and challenges as assessed through personal observation, feedback provided by the community partner, and student reflections. I conclude with discussing best practices in implementing community-based projects in undergraduate settings and describe the value of such projects across all stakeholders.

THE IMPACT OF A SERVICE-LEARNING COURSE ON UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT ATTITUDES TOWARD OLDER ADULTS

Abstract Undergraduate students often have little contact with older adults, which may result in a lack of interest regarding career options in gerontology or geriatric practice. To combat this problem, the University of Alaska Anchorage’s 300-level Public Health for an Aging Society course introduces students enrolled in the Health Sciences Bachelor’s program to a variety of gerontological concepts. This service-learning course engages public health and pre-clinical students in the community, providing valuable experience working with local senior agencies to provide a product or service. Students work in interdisciplinary teams and have a variety of community-based projects to select from as part of their coursework. Using the Geriatric Attitudes Scale at the start and end of the semester, this presentation reports on improved student perceptions of older adults as a result of this course. With a sample of 22 undergraduates at the beginning of the semester, scores were relatively high in agreement with positive statements about aging (i.e., “it is society’s responsibility to provide care for the elderly”). However, they also report agreement with less positive statements about aging, such as “taking a medical history from elder patients is frequently an ordeal” and “as people grow older, they become less organized and more confused.” At the conclusion of the 15-week course, students report lower agreement with these negative statements about aging as a result of their learning and hands-on experience.

Navigating Everyday Multiculturalism in the Culture Chats Writing Program

Taking a grounded approach to multiculturalism and the lens of informal learning and community of practice, this study reports findings from a community-based collaborative research project that explored a group of immigrant women writers’ perceptions of and experiences with multiculturalism in a community writing workshop in Metro Vancouver, a highly multicultural and multilingual regional district in the Province of British Columbia. Drawing on observation, interviews, and written artifacts created by women writers regarding their experiences with and reflection on everyday multicultural encounters, we illustrate how learning possibilities and multilayered dimensions of multiculturalism unfolded within the quotidian intercultural setting of the writing workshop, and how the shared practices of writing and intercultural communication contributed to the construction of an ephemeral community of “hybrid knowing and knowledge.”

A Social Dimension of Adaptation and Mitigation of Climate Change: Empowering Local Rural Communities to Confront Extreme Poverty

Climate change impacts occur at varying spatial scales requiring appropriately scaled responses. In impoverished rural areas, adapting to or mitigating the effects of climate change is challenging, with any short-term impairment to precarious livelihoods likely triggering negative community responses even if people are aware of long-term benefits. The paper will discuss a community-based carbon sequestration project in eastern Iran. It started in 2003 and since then has been expanded widely. It was nominated by UNDP as one of 10 transformative projects in Asia/Pacific in 2016. Over the past 20 years, the project has targeted improving the livelihood of the local communities while addressing local measures to adapt to/mitigate climate change. The paper elaborates on the formation of village development groups as pivotal drivers of success by highlighting local income-generating schemes and project documentation. Key lessons for climate change adaptation can be learnt and are applicable to other developing countries. Extreme poverty in rural areas facing climate change could be tackled through implementing bottom-up approaches in which local communities can be respected and engaged in co-leadership and planning.

Involving Engineering Student in Community-Based Project: A Qualitative Study

Involving Engineering Student in Community-Based Project: A Qualitative Study

Decision making processes and power dynamics in timber production co-management: A comparative analysis of seven Brazilian Amazonian community-based projects

Power asymmetries are a major obstacle to inclusive and robust decision making in collaborative management (or co-management), whereby multiple actors, principally government and local communities, jointly make decisions to achieve natural resource management goals. We compared seven community-based timber projects under different co-management arrangements within three Brazilian Amazonian extractive reserves to illuminate how decision making was organized (structure) and how it actually operated (function) with respect to power dynamics among multiple actors. Over a 15-month field season, we conducted participant observation and 52 semistructured interviews, systematically analyzed over 30 key timber management decision-making meetings, and employed Q-methodology to ascertain diverse actor perspectives of power dynamics. Our overall analysis revealed that decisions across all seven timber projects were gradually made through multiple meetings at community, extractive reserve, and beyond extractive reserve levels – a positive approach that can lead to continuous problem-solving. The 16 Q-sorters perceived decision making in these meetings to be participative, respectful of all actors' rights to speak, and allowed for some knowledge exchange, suggesting that unequal power dynamics (as observed in our study) does not necessarily prevent the opportunity to voice one's opinion. This participation also decentralized decision-making processes, boosting chances that community-level actors used their crucial local knowledge and advocated for their interests. Still, in one reserve, community members were ill prepared to make informed decisions, lacking sufficient technical training and trusted long-term support from non-governmental external actors. Furthermore, some Q-sorters noted insufficient community-level actors in decision-making processes, because deliberative spaces were beyond their physical reach. Yet in two reserves, innovative logistical strategies were developed to compensate and accommodate this challenge. In the third reserve, however, in the absence of intentional and creative solutions to geographical and cultural distances, there were limited interactions among the communities and external actors, giving rise to minimal information flow and weakened representation of community interests in decision making. We also demonstrated that actors in power (government forest administration officers) or those with perceived power (financial or forest technical providers, community leaders), sometimes acted strategically over other actors, particularly those perceived as without power (community residents), to alter their behavior, constrain their choices, and influence their expectations regarding decision outcomes. We conclude that power asymmetries can be overcome in natural resource co-management decision making, using deliberate, thoughtful, and creative participatory approaches.