Participatory Research Initiative Research Articles

Value co-creation of carbon-neutral tourism route: a case in Thailand

ABSTRACT This participatory action research initiative was undertaken in Thailand to promote carbon-neutral tourism (CNT). The research involved the engagement of multiple stakeholders in the value chain to co-create a valuable CNT route for Nong Khao sub-district tourism in Kanchanaburi Province. A service design approach was applied in this study, consisting of four phases: building engagement and awareness, exploring customer needs, co-creating a route, and assessing the results. The findings revealed that tourists exhibited a strong preference towards the CNT trip option. The implementation of the activities resulted in an increased net profit margin of 165.31% due to cost reduction, sale-price growth, and larger tourist numbers. The research provides important value co-creation of CNT management guidelines for community tourism.

Standing tall: A continuing education program and participatory study offered to arts therapists working in the israeli education system

This article is based on an arts-based participatory action research study conducted as an integral part of the Standing Tall continuing education program. Focusing on arts therapists within the Israeli education system, the research investigated their perceptions of the state of creative arts therapies in the system, their experiences, and their suggestions for enhancing their work environment. Finally, it explored co-researchers’ perceptions of the meaningfulness of their involvement in the program and participatory research initiative. The 20 arts therapists-co-researchers who participated in this program conducted interviews with 142 colleagues to learn about their job experiences and then analyzed these interviews. The lead researchers thematically analyzed the written and artistic materials collected during the program. The research findings showed the participants, both co-researchers, and interviewees, perceived the integration of arts therapy into the educational system as significant and potentially beneficial. The co-researchers aspired to play an active role in enhancing this integration while acknowledging the challenges involved. They saw the program as a meaningful opportunity for arts-based self-exploration. The findings suggest that while decision-makers play a crucial role in shaping the working conditions of arts therapists, the therapists themselves can catalyze change in the educational system and perhaps in other public systems as well.

A Model for Engaging Citizen Scientists: A Community-Partnered Research Collaboration to Address Inequities for Black Birthing People.

Co-creation of a citizen-science research initiative with a collaborative team of community members and university-based scientists to address regional disparities in maternal and fetal health outcomes for Black birthing people. Citizen scientist-led projects, where community members actively contribute to each discovery step, from setting a research agenda to collecting data and disseminating results, can extend community participatory research initiatives and help reconceptualize traditional research processes. The Pregnancy Collaborative is a citizen-science research initiative and one of nine scientific committees of The Pittsburgh Study-a longitudinal, community-partnered study designed to bring together collaborators to improve child thriving. Ten community members and five university-based scientists participated during all phases of developing a citizen-scientist collaboration over an initial two-and-a-half-year period. Phases include forming the Pregnancy Collaborative and group research ethics training; co-creating a research agenda grounded in shared principles; and community-partnered data collection, analysis, and dissemination. These phases produced three key co-designed products: (1) a mission and vision statement of the Pregnancy Collaborative, (2) a Collaborative-endorsed research agenda, and (3) a citizen-scientist-executed research survey. Lessons learned from the formation of the Pregnancy Collaborative highlight the importance of equitable power distribution through bidirectional knowledge sharing and by centering intellectual effort, lived experience, and tools and resources of those affected by health inequities. Using a citizen science approach to co-designing and executing research helps us move maternal health inequity work from "research on" to "research with."

Taking Boys Seriously: a participatory action research initiative demonstrating the transformative potential of relational education

This article advances a gender-conscious conception of relational education emanating from the Taking Boys Seriously longitudinal participatory action research initiative in Northern Ireland. The study is grounded in the voices and experiences of boys from disadvantaged communities who have been disengaged, disinterested, or excluded from school. Specifically, we examine data from 120 educators and 442 adolescent boys involved in trialling a set of relational education principles. The findings demonstrate a groundswell of support from formal and informal educators for the advancement of relational education as a whole system approach that leads to improved holistic outcomes particularly for boys experiencing compounded educational disadvantage. Bourdieu’s concepts of cultural capital and symbolic power are utilised, framing relational education within the contested and politically infused space of education policy, pedagogy, and practice.

Taking boys seriously: Utilising participatory action research to tackle compounded educational disadvantage

This paper presents successive phases of Taking Boys Seriously (TBS), a longitudinal participatory action research initiative bringing together diverse educational bodies and indigenous educators across a highly stratified education system in a contested society. The voices and everyday life and school experiences of adolescent boys are positioned firmly at the centre of a research methodology aimed at re-engaging, empowering, and learning from marginalised boys. We discuss how a collaborative and reflexive process co-produced with a committed steering group has been vital in pursuit of systemic change. New concepts of compounded educational disadvantage, relational education, and an educational ecosystem have been co-theorised and applied in practical ways to counter deficit narratives and support holistic approaches and new partnerships across educational settings in Northern Ireland. Strengths and limitations of our participatory approach are considered, particularly in relation to the role and participation of boys in the research process.

Doing it together, but in a queer way: joyful worldmaking with 2SLGBTQI + folks in Atlantic Canada

This paper explores the joyful worldmaking that circulated between a group of 35 queer and trans adults and youth from across Atlantic Canada—New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador—who came together in February 2023 for a do-it-yourself (DIY) archiving and artmaking workshop on unceded and unsurrendered Wolastoqiyik territory in Fredericton, New Brunswick—as part of an ongoing participatory visual research initiative called Pride/Swell+. Exploring this worldmaking through frameworks of queer joy, we ask: How does worldmaking circulate within the Pride/Swell + workshop space and archives? Why is queer and trans worldmaking valuable to 2SLGBTQI + youth? What is the importance in remembering and archiving the things that queer and trans folks are doing to craft their everyday lives? Through DIY artmaking and participatory methodologies, we explore how Pride/Swell + fosters spaces for 2SLGBTQI + folks, including youth, to think about their lives and queer communities in celebratory and joyful ways. Ultimately, we argue that uplifting everyday moments of queer and trans worlds in our project promotes a more complicated and nuanced understanding of what it means to be 2SLGBTQI + in Atlantic Canada.

‘Memory Talk’ in a Museum in a Contested Land

The article reflects on a participatory research initiative involving place attachment and heritage discourses, carried out in 2012–2014 in the multicultural and ethnically contested city of Koper/Capodistria (Slovenia). The initiative engaged local inhabitants in a set of ‘memory evenings’ dedicated to exploring personal and collective memories and place attachment to sites in the city’s old town. Although it was meant to promote participatory approaches in the conservation of built heritage and stimulate inclusive heritage discourses, it also had a strong psychological effect for local inhabitants. Initially conceived as a combination of the group interview and focus group methods, it evolved into an approach comparable to the discourse of ‘memory talk’ (Degnen 2005). The article analyses the past experience, focusing particularly on its criticalities, and points to how it is currently being developed.

'It doesn't happen any other way': relationship-building and reflexivity for equity-focused intersectoral practice (EquIP).

Intersectoral processes that bring together public institutions, civil society organizations and affected community members are essential to tackling complex health equity challenges. While conventional wisdom points to the importance of human relationships in fostering collaboration, there is a lack of practical guidance on how to do intersectoral work in ways that support authentic relationship-building and mitigate power differentials among people with diverse experiences and roles. This article presents the results of RentSafe EquIP, a community-based participatory research initiative conducted in Owen Sound, Canada, in the midst of a housing crisis. The research explored the potential utility of equity-focused intersectoral practice (EquIP), a novel approach that invests in human relationships and knowledge co-creation among professionals and affected members of the community. The three-phase EquIP methodology centred the grounded expertise of community members with lived/living experience of housing inadequacy to catalyze reflexive thinking by people in professional roles about the institutional gaps and barriers that prevent effective intersectoral response to housing-related inequities. The research demonstrated that EquIP can support agency professionals and community members to (i) engage in (re)problematization to redefine the problem statement to better include upstream drivers of inequity, (ii) support reflexivity among those in professional roles to identify institutional practices, policies and norms that perpetuate stigma and impede effective intersectoral response and (iii) spark individual and collective agency and commitment towards a more equity-focused intersectoral system. We conclude that the EquIP methodology is a promising approach for communities seeking to address persistent health equity and social justice challenges.

The Empowering Ecopedagogical Communities and Restructuring Environment-Based Early Childhood Education Curriculum in Coal Mining Regions

The Early Childhood Education Curriculum should always be thoughtfully tailored to contextual conditions. For institutions situated in coal mining regions, an environmentally-based curriculum becomes imperative to address the ongoing exploitation of the environment. However, it has come to light that Early Childhood Education institutions in coal mining areas have not aligned their curricula with these contextual considerations. In response to this discrepancy, a Participatory Action Research (PAR) initiative was undertaken by a team of researchers in collaboration with mentor subjects, who are Early Childhood Education teachers in the Hatungun, Binuang, Tapin Selatan, and Salam Babaris Districts. The overarching goal was to rectify this less-than-ideal situation. The series of PAR activities proved to be transformative, leading to the graduation of 38 community members equipped with the ability to design, implement, and evaluate environment-based Early Childhood Education practices. This achievement represents a significant step toward nurturing a generation of educators who can effectively engage with the unique challenges of coal mining regions, fostering sustainable and responsible approaches to education that align with the local environmental context. Ultimately, it paves the way for a more harmonious relationship between early childhood education and the environment, contributing to the broader goal of mitigating environmental exploitation.

Circular Economy in Mountain Value Chains: The Case of Three PDO Cheeses

The circular economy (CE) has shown promise for achieving several of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, replacing the linear system and reducing negative impacts on the environment. This research aims to assess the effective adoption of CE principles in three cheeses with geographical indication (GI) through an analysis of the practices identified in their respective value chains. Qualitative interviews show the persistence of historical practices that preserve the heritage behind the product, maintain autonomy in relation to external inputs and save energy or make intelligent use of by-products. Radical adoption of CE principles requires innovation to reduce the use of new inputs and greenhouse gas emissions. GI food products are generally not constrained by standards beyond those set by law, but their specifications can be modified, while respecting practices consistent with the link to the terroir. However, the remoteness of small businesses in deep rural areas, far from research centers, is slowing down the transfer of knowledge and the adoption of the latest technologies, particularly in mountainous areas. More participatory research and innovative initiatives are needed to ensure the transition to a circular economy for traditional mountain products, which are strongly linked to local culinary traditions and cultural identity.

"Give up your mic": Building capacity and sustainability within community-based participatory research initiatives.

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnerships strive to promote community capacity building and sustainability, yet initiatives often suffer when grants or relationships with academic partners end. To address these concerns, researchers hoping to develop truly sustainable CBPR partnerships should consider factors that promote the development of community capacity and, ultimately, independence. In this first-person account, using perspectives gathered from FAVOR, a Connecticut-based family-led advocacy organization and an academic researcher, we examine the practices and experiences of the members of a CBPR partnership focused on using community voice to inform changes in the state's children's behavioral health system of care. These practices ultimately led to FAVOR developing the necessary skills to assume full ownership of the community data-gathering initiative, ensuring that the initiative would be sustained. Through the perspectives of five FAVOR staff and an academic researcher, we describe the factors that contributed to the organization being able to develop the capacity to independently continue their community data-gathering initiative, including description of the training process and staff members' perspectives on training, autonomy, community value, and lessons learned. We use these stories and experiences to provide recommendations for other partnerships striving to promote capacity building and sustainability through community ownership of the research process.

Dewey, Implementation, and Creating a Democratic Civic University

Dewey, Implementation, and Creating a Democratic Civic University

Community-based participatory research initiative to assess the scope of alcohol use within the community of refugees from Burma in the greater Denver area

Introduction For over fifty years, minorities in Burma have faced severe persecution and violence, forcing them to flee their homeland. In the past ten years there has been an influx in the number of refugees resettled in Denver, Colorado. Refugees often struggle to navigate the complexities of the American health care system and adapt to life in a foreign culture. The development of programs and partnerships to assist refugees in their pursuit of health and integration is essential to building stronger communities.Objectives This community based participatory research (CBPR) project was developed in collaboration with the refugee community from Burma living in the Denver area. After regular meetings with a group of motivated teenagers and young adults from this community to form our Youth Advisory Board (YAB), they identified alcohol use and misuse as a health concern within their community. With this identified issue, the project aimed to gather data from community members that could be leveraged to create, implement, and evaluate a culturally competent intervention to effectively address risky alcohol use in this community.MethodsData collection involved formal one-on-one, semi-structured, audio-recorded interviews with community members. Participants were recruited voluntarily at health information nights held by the student researchers at their local apartment complex. The interviews were conducted by one medical student researcher with one translator present and were transcribed afterward. The interview data was analyzed using Immersion Crystallization methodology.ResultsInitial results from the community meetings with the YAB, local organizations, formative community surveys, and key informant interviews highlighted the vulnerability of the refugee population, scarcity of culturally appropriate resources for alcohol abuse, and urgency of addressing problematic alcohol use. The analysis of the ten audio-recorded surveys showed several themes including negative consequences of alcohol use, specifically negative impacts on familial relationships, employment, and financial resources, and a perceived personal responsibility for managing one’s own alcohol consumption.ConclusionsThis project corroborates current literature regarding the scope and breadth of hazardous alcohol use within the community of refugees from Burma. Our data has expanded our understanding of the values of community members including the influence of religion and family on behaviors, and the negative impact on employment as the most impactful negative consequence. These findings need to be shared with the community to move forward in mapping the most effective and appropriate interventions.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

The challenges of decolonising participatory research in indigenous contexts: the Atautsikut community of practice experience in Nunavik

ABSTRACT Historically, research involving Indigenous peoples has been the scene of power imbalances between Indigenous communities and researchers. Indigenous peoples have often been put in the position of passive subjects of research rather than participants or collaborators with agency, a situation that the current movement of decolonisation of research and practices in the field of Indigenous health aims to counteract. Participatory research seeks a better balance of input, decision-making and power between research participants and research teams and values participants’ knowledges. As such, it is a particularly relevant approach for researchers to involve community members and support self-determination of Indigenous people. Yet, if its explicit intentions are aiming at a decolonising approach, the socio-structural context of participatory research initiatives in Indigenous communities brings obstacles to the approach’s success. The development and implementation of the participatory project Atautsikut: A Community of Practice in Youth Mental Health and Wellness in Nunavik, has been an occasion to document certain barriers that take place in participatory research. This article describes Atautsikut as a starting point for a reflection on the challenges of decolonising participatory research. It discusses how, despite intentions, structural barriers, blind spots and unexpected contextual elements may challenge the journey towards decolonising research.

Exploring Female University Students' Participation in Physical Activity in Saudi Arabia: A Mixed-Methods Study.

BackgroundThe importance of physical activity in improving physical and mental health has been emphasized in many studies. Researchers in Saudi Arabia have reported an increase in physical inactivity among Saudis, especially among University female population. Current efforts in the field in Saudi Arabia have yet to explore barriers and facilitators that influence female University student's participation in physical activity. This study aims to provide an assessment of the situation regarding physical activity among female University students in Saudi Arabia.MethodsThis mixed method study preceded a participatory action research initiative. The first part of the mixed method consisted of a cross-sectional survey of 375 female University students in Saudi Arabia who completed the short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. The second part consisted of semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 14 female University students and 16 female exercise trainers.ResultsResults showed that most participants (91%) spent more time in walking activity compared to moderate (66%) and vigorous activity (57%) for at least 10 min at a time over a period of 7 days. Results showed that 70% of participants did not meet the WHO recommendation of 150 min per week of moderate activity, while around 62% of participants did not meet the WHO recommendation of 75 min per week of vigorous activity. Barriers to participation included limited facilities for physical activities, academic workload, gender role, and the need to adhere to cultural standards. Facilitators included valuing positive results, general health concerns, and family support.ConclusionKnowledge gained from this study might support organizations and public health authorities to develop physical activity interventions that better address Saudi women's perceived needs. These findings are an important contribution to current knowledge in light of recent advances in women's rights in Saudi Arabia.

Development of a Community Coalition to Influence Nutrition and Physical Activity in Early Childhood Education.

Recognizing insufficient support for healthy eating and physical activity in early childhood education centers in Greenville, South Carolina, a group of stakeholders formed a workgroup as an organizing structure. Members developed and implemented a 2-year community-based participatory research initiative aimed at nutrition and physical activity policy, systems and environment change in 10 early childhood education centers. This article 1) describes engagement efforts and partnerships leading to formation of the workgroup and initiative, 2) presents data on Workgroup members' knowledge and engagement, and 3) shares lessons learned. Workgroup member knowledge and engagement related to obesity prevention was measured at two time points during the ECE initiative using the "Stakeholder-driven Community Diffusion Survey." Knowledge and engagement scores increased over the measurement period. Scores for engagement were higher than scores for knowledge at both time points. There was a substantial increase in perceived leadership and stewardship, knowledge of intervention factors and how to intervene sustainably, and understanding of local resources and roles. An important strength was stakeholder buy-in and ownership of planning and implementation processes.

Generating New Narratives: Examining Youths’ Multiliteracies Practices in Youth Participatory Action Research

This paper examines the multiliteracies practices () of 20 high school students who participated in a weeklong summer research institute at the start of a 6-month-long community-based youth participatory action research (YPAR) initiative. Data analyzed included 20 digital multimodal compositions produced by youths, individual interviews with youths, and observations of youths’ participation in the YPAR initiative. Data analysis utilized theories of multiliteracies practices () and culturally sustaining pedagogies () enacted across contexts of YPAR (). Findings contribute new insights about students’ multiliteracies practices in YPAR in two ways. First, we examine how learning about research methods shifted students’ understandings of research and the role their experiences could play in YPAR. Second, we examine how students’ digital literacies practices () supported them in generating new narratives about their community in digital multimodal compositions. Finally, we consider how insights gained from our examination may support educators in developing and enacting culturally sustaining () learning contexts that build with students’ multiliteracies practices as strengths while challenging persistent educational inequities.

Project Lotus: A really cool community-based initiative assisting women post-homelessness

In Canada, recent conservative estimates report upwards of 235,000 individuals are homeless on a given night. Of those experiencing precarious housing situations, women make up approximately 30% and are among the most vulnerable. Their residential insecurity has been further exacerbated with the community and social restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Existing resources that assist women experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity are often stretched to the limit dealing with emergency and crisis housing situations, with less focus on post-shelter supports. To address this issue, a community-based participatory research initiative ‘Project Lotus - Hope Together’ was established in Montreal. Grounded in the World Health Organization’s Commission on Social Determinants of Health Framework, the overarching goal of this research is to co-design a housing supports program for women leaving a shelter stay. We created a cross-sectorial Advisory Committee consisting of women with lived experiences of homelessness, service providers, community leaders, and researchers. To date, we have conducted preliminary research (literature review, interviews with women with lived experience of homelessness, stakeholder meetings) to identity what has assisted women through this transition, and what barriers exist. We have also held virtual community consultation meetings to discuss preliminary findings of recommendations of key components that should be in a post-shelter support program for women. This presentation outlines the current findings and highlights the importance of participatory research. Implementing whole person care in the area of women’s homelessness requires both a comprehensive and individualized approach to help women and children secure home, health, and a sustainable future.

Abstract PO-043: Perceived everyday discrimination, socioeconomic status, and mammography screening behavior

Abstract Black women (BW) experience age-adjusted breast cancer mortality rates that are 40-70% higher than White women. Although BW are more likely to report having had a mammogram compared to other racial/ethnic minority groups, differences in mammography utilization exist among women with lower socioeconomic status (SES). Moreover, perceived everyday discrimination (PED) has been shown to have an inverse relationship on health screening behavior among BW. However, mammography screening behaviors of BW with low SES, who also report higher levels of PED, is not well known. This study aims to explore the relationship between perceived discrimination, SES (income, education, health insurance), and mammography screening behavior. Methods: Participants completed a 40-item survey and were recruited between 2020-2021 through a community-based participatory research initiative—Bench to Community. Logistic regression was used to test the associations of mammography utilization with PED—short version of Everyday Discrimination Scale, SES, and race/ethnicity. Results: Most participants (n=159) identified as BW (55%)—African American, African, and Caribbean, followed by White (34%), and other groups (9.3%). Twenty-five percent had some high school (HS) or a HS diploma, 25% had some college education with 15% reporting an income below $25,000. Many respondents had health insurance (96%), and 74% reported having had a mammogram. Discrimination alone significantly impacted whether an individual had a mammogram, such that those who reported higher levels of PED were 38% less likely to have a mammogram, χ2(12) = 36.924, p<.001. Additionally, while education significantly contributed to the model, income demonstrated a trending influence overall, with less than $25,000 income reaching significance (B=-3.331, SE=1.210, Wald = 7.576, p=.006). As race and insurance did not significantly contribute to the overall model, subsequent model fitting excluded these variables. In a model that included only discrimination, education, and income, all three predictors significantly contributed to the model χ2(9)= 33.571, p<.001. Discrimination (B= -.536, SE=.178, Wald = 9.106, p=.003), education overall (B=-1.177, SE=.604, Wald = 3.797, p=.051), and income (B=-2.674, SE=.956, Wald = 7.815, p=.005) were significant predictors. More specifically, those with some college education or less were 3.245 times less likely to have a mammogram. In this final model, those who reported making less than $25,000 household income were .069 times less likely to have a mammogram. Lastly, race alone was significantly (p=.006) predictive of mammogram screening behavior. Discussion/Conclusion: PED, education, and income were associated with mammography screening behavior. The excess mortality faced by BW, is a probable reflection of their position within our hierarchal society. Addressing these social determinants of health factors may improve our understanding of ways discrimination leaves BW vulnerable to disparate health outcomes, including breast cancer. Citation Format: Jessica Vinegar, Marissa Ericson, Kommah McDowell, Tonya Fairley, Rick Kittles, Lindsey Treviño, Dede Teteh. Perceived everyday discrimination, socioeconomic status, and mammography screening behavior [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Conference: 14th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2021 Oct 6-8. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-043.

Knowledge Transfer with Citizen Science: Luft-Leipzig Case Study

Community-based participatory research initiatives such as “hackAir”, “luftdaten.info”, “senseBox”, “CAPTOR”, “CurieuzeNeuzen Vlaanderen”, “communityAQ”, and “Healthy Air, Healthier Children” campaign among many others for mitigating short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) and improving air quality have reported progressive knowledge transfer results. These research initiatives provide the research community with the practical four-element state-of-the-art method for citizen science. For the preparation-, measurements-, data analysis-, and scientific support-elements that collectively present the novel knowledge transfer method, the Luft-Leipzig project results are presented. This research contributes to science by formulating a novel method for SLCP mitigation projects that employ citizen scientists. The Luft-Leipzig project results are presented to validate the four-element state-of-the-art method. The method is recommended for knowledge transfer purposes beyond the scope of mitigating short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) and improving air quality.