A realist-constructionist perspective on participatory research in health promotion

Abstract

Clarifying the contours of research in health promotion (HP) is an ongoing challenge. Research in this action-oriented field has traditionally been developed based on values such as participation and empowerment. Consequently, many forms of participatory research have emerged throughout the years, and participatory research has positioned itself as a core competency of HP and public health. This paper argues that participation as a normative stance guiding methodology, or as value, is a fragile posture upon which to position research practices. The argument is based on a realist-constructionist perspective of science and specifically uses Law and Latour's notion of inscription device and Callon's actor-network theory to suggest that participation is an epistemological necessity and that participatory research practices may be considered as inscription devices. These theoretical notions help clarify the consequences of participation on knowledge production. Finally, the article refers to Stengers's work to propose an ecology of research practices that defines obligations and exigencies for HP with respect to knowledge production and that are more consistent with the field's values of social justice and equity.

A tool for exploring the dynamics of innovative interventions for public health: the critical event card

“…As demonstrated in this study, critical episodes related to actors' interactions, mediation result in important modifications and learnings. This, in turn, increases the system's ability to meeting challenges and controversies in the future (Mantoura and Potvin 2013;Hawe 2015). Controversies and critical events require that actors seek out new alliances, networks connections, producing facts and inscriptions to successfully pursuing their project (Latour 2001).…”

“…Among their features one notes: (1) multiple interacting components, (2) adaptable and participatory planning processes (Shen et al 2008); (3) unexpected consequences (Hawe et al 2009;, and (4) dependency upon contextual conditions (Rychetnik et al 2002). Thereby, stakeholders including evaluators, need knowledge about intervention's actions and interactions with context, including how these are mutually modified through these interactions (Sanson-Fisher et al 2007;Hawe et al 2009;Mantoura and Potvin 2013;Potvin et al 2010).…”

Towards Enhancing Integrated Pest Management Based on Volunteered Geographic Information

“…Ontologically, positivism recognizes one reality that can be known with certain probability; there is a universal law independent from spatiotemporal contexts [27]. Epistemologically, positivism is associated with subject-object dualism, in which the knower is thought to be value-free and separated from the reality [28]. Methodologically, quantitative approaches drive positivism.…”

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“…Optou-se pela participação contínua dos coordenadores e pesquisadores envolvidos na Rede ao longo da realização do estudo, considerando que a pesquisa participativa tem sido indicada como abordagem relevante para avaliar intervenções com caracterís-ticas inovadoras (MANTOURA;POTVIN 2013). Para isso, empreendeu-se a realização de quatro oficinas sobre 'Produtos em Saúde Pública' durante o processo da pesquisa.…”

“…Cabe ressaltar que dois projetos apresentavam características inovadoras, dando importância a um modelo de pesquisa intervencional participativa (MONTOURA;POTVIN, 2013), e uma delas envolveu a comunidade em todo o seu processo.…”