Participatory Action Research (participatory + action_research)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Terms modified by Participatory Action Research

  • participatory action research approach
  • participatory action research project

  • Selected Abstracts


    PRACTICING WHAT WE PREACH: THE POSSIBILITIES OF PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH WITH FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS

    ANNALS OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL PRACTICE, Issue 1 2010
    Katherine Lambert-Pennington
    This article examines the role and methodologies of the anthropologist as practitioner working in faith-based development initiatives. In particular, the author discusses attempts to use a participatory action research (PAR) model to examine the current programs, congregational participation, and future community development activities of Saint Andrew African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. The article examines how the FBO's traditional model of community development interfaced with the university research team's participatory approach and shaped the way that research was carried out. Additionally, the author discusses the varying ways that she, as an anthropologist, and her methods were positioned and the process of negotiating a mutually acceptable methodology. This FBO-university partnership revealed several key issues that have relevance for anthropologists engaged in work with FBOs and beyond. First, the model of faith-based community development shapes the possibilities of the work. Second, it shows how the anthropologist, and university partners more generally, are positioned by the organization, informs how and by whom the data is collected, what data is collected, and how it is used. Finally, there is no longer room for anthropologists to work alone; community issues and agency demands are complex and require interdisciplinary collaborative responses. [source]


    Recognising our role: improved confidence of general nurses providing care to young people with a mental illness in a rural paediatric unit

    JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 9-10 2010
    Lorna Moxham
    Objective., To implement and evaluate strategies suggested by general nurses to improve management of children and adolescents with mental health problems admitted to a paediatric unit of a general hospital. Background., The first phase of a study using a Participatory Action Research approach identified several concerns associated with general nurses providing care to young people with mental disorders in paediatric units of general hospitals, together with suggestions for strategies to address these issues. This paper describes the second and third phase of the Participatory Action Research study, involving the implementation and evaluation of these strategies. Design., Participatory Action Research. Methods., Actions that occurred during phase two of the Participatory Action Research study included revision and introduction of policies and procedures for mental health care in the unit, education and training sessions for paediatric nursing staff and opportunities to strengthen communication between existing mental health services. In phase three, two focus groups were conducted to explore current perceptions of mental health care delivery in the unit and evaluate change, following phase two. Results., Changes in clinical practice for paediatric mental health care were acknowledged by participants. Reflection has assisted nurses to better understand their strengths and weaknesses and to acknowledge and challenge the assumptions on which their ideas, feelings and actions about patients with mental health issues are based. Participants also recognised the existing skills and expertise they possess that are relevant to the management of young people with a mental health problem, although they continue to seek ongoing education and support in this field. Conclusions., This study demonstrates that through Participatory Action Research it is possible to enhance mental health nursing care in a rural paediatric unit. Relevance to clinical practice., Such changes have the potential to improve the experience of young people and their families whilst receiving treatment for mental health conditions in a general paediatric unit. [source]


    Health Promotion and Participatory Action Research with South Asian Women

    JOURNAL OF NURSING SCHOLARSHIP, Issue 1 2002
    U.K. Choudhry
    Purpose: To examine South Asian immigrant women's health promotion issues and to facilitate the creation of emancipatory knowledge and self-understanding regarding health-promoting practices; to promote health education and mobilization for culturally relevant action. Method: The study was based on critical social theory; the research model was participatory action research (PAR). Two groups of South Asian women (women from India and of Indian origin) who had immigrated to Canada participated in the project. The qualitative data were generated through focus groups. Reflexive and dialectical critique were used as methods of analyzing qualitative data. The data were interpreted through reiterative process, and dominant themes were identified. Findings: Three themes that were extracted from the data were: (a) the importance of maintaining culture and tradition, (b) placing family needs before self, and (c) surviving by being strong. An issue for action was the risk of intergenerational conflicts leading to alienation of family members. Over a period of 3 years, the following action plans were carried out: (a) workshops for parents and children, (b) sharing of project findings with the community, and (c) a presentation at an annual public health conference. Conclusions and Implications: The project activities empowered participants to create and share knowledge, which was then applied toward action for change. Health and health promotion were viewed as functions of the women's relationships to the world around them. [source]


    Psychological Interventions in the Context of Poverty: Participatory Action Research as Practice

    AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 1 2010
    Laura Smith
    What innovations of socially just psychological practice exist for mental health professionals working in the context of poverty? This article argues for participatory action research (PAR) as a new horizon not only with regard to the creation of knowledge but as a community-based practice/action that promotes the emotional well-being of people surviving poverty and other forms of oppression. After the presentation of this argument, an ongoing PAR project in a poor urban community is described. This article explores its impact on all participants through observations from field notes along with the results of a focus group in which community co-researchers contributed their experiences of PAR. Finally, key practice-related considerations and other implications for mental health practitioners are proposed. [source]


    The UCLan community engagement and service user support (Comensus) project: valuing authenticity, making space for emergence

    HEALTH EXPECTATIONS, Issue 4 2007
    Soo Downe BA (Hons) RM MSc PhD
    Abstract Objective, To develop and evaluate service user, carer and community involvement in health and social care education. Background, Despite the high policy profile of involvement issues, there appear to be no published accounts of schemes that have used a systematic whole-faculty approach to community engagement in health and social care higher education. Focus of this paper, The set up and early development of a faculty-wide community engagement project. Setting and participants, Staff from the faculty of health in one University, local service users and carers and community group project workers and local National Health Service (NHS) and public sector staff. Design, Participatory action research including document review, field notes, questionnaires and interviews. Analysis, Thematic analysis. The emerging themes were tested by seeking disconfirming data, and through verification with stake-holders. Results, Prior to the study, there were examples of community engagement in the participating faculty, but they occurred in specific departments, and scored low on the ,ladder of involvement'. Some previous attempts at engagement were perceived to have failed, resulting in resistance from staff and the community. Despite this, an advisory group was successfully formed, and project framing and development evolved with all stake-holders over the subsequent year. The four themes identified in this phase were: building accessibility; being ,proper' service users/carers;moving from suspicion to trust: mutually respectful partnerships as a basis for sustainable change; and responses to challenge and emergence. Conclusions, Successful and sustainable engagement requires authenticity. Many problems and solutions arising from authentic engagement are emergent, and potentially challenging to organizations. [source]


    Delirium and older people: what are the constraints to best practice in acute care?

    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OLDER PEOPLE NURSING, Issue 3 2008
    BHSc (Nursing), Jenny Day ADCHN, MEd (Adult Education)
    An Australian research team conducted a six-month acute care pilot study in a medical ward of a large hospital in New South Wales. Aim., To explore ways health practitioners might redesign their practice to include prevention, early detection and management of delirium in older people based on the best current practice. Method and design., Participatory action research (PAR) was selected as the best approach for involving ward staff to make sustainable clinical practice decisions. The PAR group comprised research academics and eight clinicians from the ward. Thirteen PAR sessions were held over 5 months. Clinicians described care of patients with delirium. Stories were analysed to identify constraints to best practice. Following PAR group debate about concerns and issues, there were actions toward improved practice taken by clinicians. Relevance to clinical practice., The following constraints to best practice were identified: delayed transfer of patients from the Emergency Department; routine ward activities were not conducive to provision of rest and sleep; assisting with the patient's orientation was not possible as relatives were not able to accompany and/or stay with the older patient. Underreporting of delirium and attributing confusion to dementia was viewed as an education deficit across disciplines. A wide range of assessment skills was identified as prerequisites for working in this acute care ward, with older people and delirium. Clinicians perceived that management driven by length of a patient's stay was incongruent with best practice delirium care which required more time for older patients to recover from delirium. Two significant actions towards practice improvement were undertaken by this PAR group: (i) development of a draft delirium alert prevention protocol and (ii) a separate section of the ward became a dedicated space for the care of patients with delirium. A larger study is being planned across a variety of settings. [source]


    Effectiveness of the implementation of an evidence-based nursing model using participatory action research in oncohematology: research protocol

    JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 8 2010
    Eva Abad-Corpa
    abad-corpa e., meseguer-liza c., martínez-corbalán j.t., zárate-riscal l., caravaca-hernández a., paredes-sidrach de cardona a., carrillo-alcaraz a., delgado-hito p. & cabrero-garcía j. (2010) Effectiveness of the implementation of an evidence-based nursing model using participatory action research in oncohematology: research protocol. Journal of Advanced Nursing,66(8), 1845,1851. Abstract Title.,Effectiveness of the implementation of an evidence-based nursing model using participatory action research in oncohematology: research protocol. Aim., To generate changes in nursing practice introducing an evidence-based clinical practice (EBCP) model through a participatory process. To evaluate the effectiveness of the changes in terms of nurse-sensitive outcome (NSO). Background., For international nursing science, it is necessary to explore the reasons for supporting EBCP and evaluate the real repercussions and effectiveness. Methods., A mixed methods study with a sequential transformative design will be conducted in the bone marrow transplant unit of a tertiary-level Spanish hospital, in two time periods >12 months (date of approval of the protocol: 2006). To evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention, we will use a prospective quasi-experimental design with two non-equivalent and non-concurrent groups. NSO and patient health data will be collected: (a) impact of psycho-social adjustment; (b) patient satisfaction; (c) symptom control; (d) adverse effects. All patients admitted during the period of time will be included, and all staff working on the unit during a participatory action research (PAR). The PAR design will be adopted from a constructivist paradigm perspective, following Checkland's "Soft Systems" theoretical model. Qualitative techniques will be used: 2-hour group meetings with nursing professionals, to be recorded and transcribed. Field diaries (participants and researchers) will be drawn up and data analysis will be carried out by content analysis. Discussion., PAR is a rigorous research method for introducing changes into practice to improve NSO. [source]


    ,Who Did What?': A Participatory Action Research Project to Increase Group Capacity for Advocacy

    JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, Issue 1 2009
    E. Garcia-Iriarte
    Background, This participatory action research (PAR) project involved a collaboration with a self-advocacy group of people with intellectual disabilities that sought to build group capacity for advocacy. Materials and Methods, This study used a focus group, sustained participatory engagement and a reflexive process to gather qualitative and quantitative data over 15 months. All methods were adapted to ensure accessibility and to support active participation. Results, The collaboration generated action products, including tools to support advocacy and an accessible action and reflection process. Research findings suggest that active participation is essential for group control, but alone does not automatically lead to control. The manner in which supports are provided, including member supports, advisor supports, strategy supports and systems supports, influences the extent to which members have a sense of control over decision making and participation and thus, improved capacity for advocacy. Conclusions, A PAR approach can be used to increase a group's capacity for advocacy and meaningfully involve self-advocacy groups in participatory research that leads to change. [source]


    Commentary on Glasson J, Chang E, Chenoweth L, Hancock K, Hall T, Hill-Murray F & Collier L (2006) Evaluation of a model of nursing care for older patients using participatory action research in an acute medical ward. ,Journal of Clinical Nursing 15, 588,598

    JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 10 2007
    FAETC, Tracey Williamson MSc
    [source]


    Health Promotion and Participatory Action Research with South Asian Women

    JOURNAL OF NURSING SCHOLARSHIP, Issue 1 2002
    U.K. Choudhry
    Purpose: To examine South Asian immigrant women's health promotion issues and to facilitate the creation of emancipatory knowledge and self-understanding regarding health-promoting practices; to promote health education and mobilization for culturally relevant action. Method: The study was based on critical social theory; the research model was participatory action research (PAR). Two groups of South Asian women (women from India and of Indian origin) who had immigrated to Canada participated in the project. The qualitative data were generated through focus groups. Reflexive and dialectical critique were used as methods of analyzing qualitative data. The data were interpreted through reiterative process, and dominant themes were identified. Findings: Three themes that were extracted from the data were: (a) the importance of maintaining culture and tradition, (b) placing family needs before self, and (c) surviving by being strong. An issue for action was the risk of intergenerational conflicts leading to alienation of family members. Over a period of 3 years, the following action plans were carried out: (a) workshops for parents and children, (b) sharing of project findings with the community, and (c) a presentation at an annual public health conference. Conclusions and Implications: The project activities empowered participants to create and share knowledge, which was then applied toward action for change. Health and health promotion were viewed as functions of the women's relationships to the world around them. [source]


    Inter-firm sharing of process knowledge: exploring knowledge markets

    KNOWLEDGE AND PROCESS MANAGEMENT: THE JOURNAL OF CORPORATE TRANSFORMATION, Issue 1 2002
    David G. Bell
    Markets and communities are two modalities of knowledge exchange between firms; and this study concludes with a model that addresses the tension between the two modalities. The model resulted from an exploratory study conducted under the umbrella of a national consortium, using the methodology of participatory action research. The study involved three large multinational firms, where one firm supplied knowledge of three different processes used in product development to two other non-competitive firms outside their supply chain. The knowledge was shared within the framework of an intervention that included the following: (1) individual work with process-related course materials via the web or compact disc, followed by (2) interactive group sessions supported by videoconference facilities and led by a process expert from the supplying firm. Empirical data were gathered by interviewing participants before and after the intervention, and by observing interactive group sessions. Findings from the empirical data describe rationales for inter-firm sharing of process knowledge, which illustrate a market modality of exchange; and describe practices for effective knowledge sharing, which illustrate aspects of a community modality of exchange. The model induced from these findings compares the situational setting, constellation of meanings and associated knowledge sharing practices for both modalities of exchange: market and community. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Psychological Interventions in the Context of Poverty: Participatory Action Research as Practice

    AMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 1 2010
    Laura Smith
    What innovations of socially just psychological practice exist for mental health professionals working in the context of poverty? This article argues for participatory action research (PAR) as a new horizon not only with regard to the creation of knowledge but as a community-based practice/action that promotes the emotional well-being of people surviving poverty and other forms of oppression. After the presentation of this argument, an ongoing PAR project in a poor urban community is described. This article explores its impact on all participants through observations from field notes along with the results of a focus group in which community co-researchers contributed their experiences of PAR. Finally, key practice-related considerations and other implications for mental health practitioners are proposed. [source]


    PRACTICING WHAT WE PREACH: THE POSSIBILITIES OF PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH WITH FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS

    ANNALS OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL PRACTICE, Issue 1 2010
    Katherine Lambert-Pennington
    This article examines the role and methodologies of the anthropologist as practitioner working in faith-based development initiatives. In particular, the author discusses attempts to use a participatory action research (PAR) model to examine the current programs, congregational participation, and future community development activities of Saint Andrew African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. The article examines how the FBO's traditional model of community development interfaced with the university research team's participatory approach and shaped the way that research was carried out. Additionally, the author discusses the varying ways that she, as an anthropologist, and her methods were positioned and the process of negotiating a mutually acceptable methodology. This FBO-university partnership revealed several key issues that have relevance for anthropologists engaged in work with FBOs and beyond. First, the model of faith-based community development shapes the possibilities of the work. Second, it shows how the anthropologist, and university partners more generally, are positioned by the organization, informs how and by whom the data is collected, what data is collected, and how it is used. Finally, there is no longer room for anthropologists to work alone; community issues and agency demands are complex and require interdisciplinary collaborative responses. [source]


    INVENTING A PUBLIC ANTHROPOLOGY WITH LATINO FARM LABOR ORGANIZERS IN NORTH CAROLINA

    ANNALS OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL PRACTICE, Issue 1 2009
    Sandy Smith-Nonini
    In this article, I summarize my experience conducting "an experiment in public anthropology" involving ethnographic fieldwork on a labor union struggle from the standpoint of volunteer work with community advocates for farm labor rights in North Carolina between 1998 and 2004. Theoretical rationales for participatory action research, issues of access, pros and cons from an information-gathering perspective, and ethical perspectives are discussed. [source]


    ,Why do they hate us?' Reframing immigration through participatory action research

    AREA, Issue 2 2010
    Caitlin Cahill
    Why do ,they' hate ,us'? is a painful starting point for trying to make sense of the tangled web of global restructuring, politics and racism. My discussion draws upon ,Dreaming of No Judgment', a participatory action research project developed with young people in Salt Lake City, Utah that explores the emotional and economic impacts of stereotypes upon immigrant communities. My analysis focuses upon the disjunctures between the dominant immigration discourse and the everyday experiences of young Latino immigrants. Drawing upon borderlands scholarship, starting with embodied everyday lived experiences and concerns, here I consider how the questions, concerns and feelings of young people offer new openings for reframing immigration. In conclusion, I reflect upon how PAR might be a transformative ,construction site' for reworking and responding to social injustices through the arts. [source]


    Promoting mental health care in a rural paediatric unit through participatory action research

    AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF RURAL HEALTH, Issue 3 2009
    Brenda Happell
    Abstract Objective:,To explore, advance and evaluate mental health practices in a rural general paediatric unit through participatory action research. Design:,A participatory action research approach guided this study, providing an opportunity for nursing staff to become actively involved in the design, direction and outcomes of the research. Setting:,A 16-bed paediatric unit of a rural general hospital. Participants:,A purposive convenience sample of all paediatric nursing staff (n = 20; of 24 nurses). Outcome measures:,In the first phase of this study, focus groups were conducted to explore the experiences of nurses. Results:,Participants considered mental health to be a specialist discipline area and the role of the mental health nurse to be complex. They felt that their lack of training and experience with mental health issues was detrimental to the delivery of optimal patient care. There was concern about differing approaches to treatment, relationships with other mental health services and the suitability of the ward environment for young people with a mental health problem. Participants called for training by qualified mental health staff and the development of policies and clinical guidelines to facilitate their delivery of care to patients with a mental health problem in an acute medical environment. Conclusions:,There is a clear need for nursing specialities to work together to ensure that optimal care is given to patients admitted to general hospital with a mental health issue. Given the absence of accessible specialist child mental health inpatient units in regional and remote areas, upskilling paediatric nurses must be a priority. [source]


    Employer-sponsored occupational therapy professional development in a multicampus facility: A quality project

    AUSTRALIAN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY JOURNAL, Issue 4 2009
    Anne Cusick
    Aim:,To critically assess and develop recommendations for professional development (PD) for occupational therapists in a multisite specialist cerebral palsy occupational therapy service. Method:,Quality improvement project based on principles of participatory action research: audit of PD resources/activity; stakeholder consultations and literature review. Results:,The PD program goal, resources, strategies, activities and evaluations conducted at the centre were identified and described. Areas for improvement were identified by critically considering the PD program in the context of reviewed literature. There was an assumption that personal change through PD would help attain the organisational goal of clinically competent practitioners who use evidence-based practice in a family-centred context. Recommendations:,Future PD plans and evaluations need to explicitly address this assumption. The use of structured reflection and the ,clinical reasoning' conceptual framework was recommended as one way to help personal change from PD to have workplace impact. This project provides a precedent and guide to occupational therapy PD planners regarding a whole-of-organisation approach to developing and maintaining competence through PD. [source]


    Technology for independence: a community-based resource center,

    BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES & THE LAW, Issue 1 2003
    Peter Blanck Ph.D.
    Despite the prominence of the disability civil rights model,with its values of inclusion and empowerment,the majority of social and policy research conducted to date has not sufficiently included the perspective of persons with disabilities in the research process and as uniquely qualified researchers themselves. This article describes a new project, "Technology for Independence: A Community-Based Resource Center" (CBRC). Over a five-year period, the CBRC will attempt to enhance community and consumer-directed disability organizations to design, implement, and disseminate research that promotes access to and use of assistive technology (AT). The CBRC will use strategies such as leadership training, participatory action research, technical assistance, web- assisted training, and annual symposia. A primary goal of the CBRC is to increase the capacity of community organizations to conduct research on AT that is scientifically rigorous and relevant to disability services, policy, and law. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]