The “Our Voice” Method: Participatory Action Citizen Science Research to Advance Behavioral Health and Health Equity Outcomes

Abstract

Citizen science research that more fully engages the community can systematically involve people from under-resourced groups to create practical health-enhancing improvements across physical, social and food environments. Exemplary health equity-focused outcomes include key health behaviors (e.g., healthy eating or physical activity) and community-level changes (e.g., public transit to food shops) that are central to health promotion while being demonstrably impacted by local environmental contexts. Yet, few examples of this approach are readily available for application within complex, community-based settings. In this paper, we present the Our Voice (OV) four-step method to demonstrate an integrated participatory citizen science approach and its usability for action-focused researchers and community health practitioners. In addition, we present a summary of the major research, processes, and community outcomes, with examples drawn from nutrition and healthy food access areas, among others. Finally, we explore the hallmark features of the OV method that effectively engage citizen scientists, empowering action and fostering solution-building across social and environmental structures impacting community health. Expanding research that marries participatory research philosophies with innovative citizen science methods, supported by systematic data collection, visualization, and delivery technologies, in turn provides a powerful toolkit for tackling local to global health equity challenges.

How Can Sport-Based Interventions Improve Health among Women and Girls? A Scoping Review

“…The partnership links an established soccer-based intervention for girls and women with the Our Voice method, a participatory action citizen science research approach which features a multi-lingual app-based mobile platform for data collection and integration combined with facilitated multi-sectoral group discussions and action planning. These activities are aimed specifically at an improved understanding of diverse perspectives on local social and environmental health factors as well as formulating realistic solutions [ 58 , 59 ]. To date, female participants in urban areas of Peru have shared their findings directly with decision-makers representing schools, universities, municipal leadership, and representatives of the federal agency on sport.…”

Multi-country collaborative citizen science projects to co-design cardiovascular disease prevention strategies and advocacy: findings from Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, and South Africa

“…Through this study, communities (and citizen scientists) were empowered to collaboratively engage in science to: i) explore the perceptions and communication of CVD risk in their setting; and ii) support advocacy for CVD risk prevention using the evidence generated from the collaborative approach. It is believed that the collaborative approach facilitated co-leading of this multi-setting research project that helped foster an authentic partnership between the formal scientific community and groups of community members and stakeholders, as opposed to having the researchers try to "go it alone" without the indigenous context learning, planned researcher support, training, and co-production [ 14 ]. Participatory methodologies have been very useful in the co-creation, co-production and evaluation of public health interventions [ 39 , 40 ].…”

“…Indeed, community-based intervention projects that take a grounded, co-design approach where local community members, stakeholders, and scientists participate in research are known to increase results-oriented participation in science and enable co-production of sustainable solutions [ 11 – 13 ]. Furthermore, participatory population-based intervention programmes that effectively engage and train local citizens as scientists and foster collaboration and solution-building across social and environmental structures have had substantial impact on community health [ 14 ]. While there is a growing evidence of the use of community-based participatory and co-design approaches in developing and implementing interventions in different populations, there is limited evidence of the use of this approach in the prevention of CVD in multiple settings in LMICs, and globally [ 15 – 17 ].…”

Multi-country collaborative citizen science projects to co-design cardiovascular disease prevention strategies and advocacy: findings from Ethiopia, Malawi, Rwanda, and South Africa

“…Citizen Scientists facilitated collaboration, co-learning and co-creation this study, communities were empowered to collaboratively engage in science to: i) explore the perceptions and communication of CVD risk in their setting; and ii) support advocacy for CVD risk prevention using the evidence generated from the collaborative approach. It is believed that the collaborative approach facilitated co-leading of this multi-setting research project that helped foster an authentic partnership between the formal scienti c community and groups of community members and stakeholders, as opposed to having the researchers try to "go it alone" without the indigenous context learning, planned researcher support, training, and co-production (14). Participatory methodologies have been very useful in the co-creation, co-production and evaluation of public health interventions (38,39).…”