Using participatory research to challenge the status quo for women’s cardiovascular health

Abstract

Cardiovascular health research has been dominated by medical and patriarchal paradigms, minimizing a broader perspective of causes of disease. Socioeconomic status as a risk for cardiovascular disease is well established by research, yet these findings have had little influence. Participatory research (PR) that frames mixed method research has potential to bring contextualized clinically relevant findings into program planning and policy-making arenas toward developing meaningful health and social policies relevant to primary prevention. In this article we provide an overview of a PR program that included two quantitative and one qualitative studies and then we discuss lessons learned. The PR process we found was empowering for lone mothers, and transformative for lone mothers and researchers. Further, PR as an approach to research opened spaces in practice and policy-making arenas to raise upstream issues relevant to the health of low income lone mothers. We conclude that while PR is an effective approach to social determinants research, as a time-intensive endeavor, and one that does not easily align with research tradition, researchers must consider the strengths and drawbacks of PR when planning to implement such an approach.

Uncovering social and psychosocial health factors through participatory qualitative research with low-income adults in a suburb of Montreal, Quebec

“…The present study confirms several social factors identified in previous studies, including experiences related to lack of love and support from an early age, social isolation, exclusion from the labour market and financial survival 24 25 31–40. Factors grouped under the theme of current circumstances as a social trap are consistent with literature on social determinants of health 2 9 70.…”

“…Participatory and qualitative research, by allowing examination of people’s experiences and perceptions,28–30 has potential to provide a deeper understanding of factors influencing health. Previous participatory and qualitative studies with low-income adults identified and described social factors extensively, but psychosocial factors and early experiences received less attention 31–41. The main social and psychosocial factors identified in these studies were lack of social relationships of quality, lack of money and related material and social conditions, stress, depression and low self-esteem.…”

Applying mixed methods in community-based participatory action research: a framework for engaging stakeholders with research as a means for promoting patient-centredness

“…As such, it can provide a framework for developing patient/stakeholder engagement plans and facilitating the process of translation of the generated evidence into nursing practice. Using the framework to guide a CBPAR process can also help ‘bring contextualised clinically relevant findings into programme planning and policy-making arenas toward developing meaningful health and social policies’ in nursing practice (Young and Higgins, 2010: 346).…”

What is Participatory Research? Why do it?

“…Many examples exist in the literature illustrating the use of PR methodologies in health-related topics (Bartlett et al, 2007;Jagosh et al, 2012;Rose & Glass, 2008;Young & Wharf Higgins, 2010). In common with the early conceptualizations of participatory methodological approaches, PR is often adopted where the focus is on health equity issues (Wallerstein & Duran, 2010) and on marginalized populations such as individuals who experience disabilities (Barnes, 1996;Ramcharan, 2005; see Chapter 8), Indigenous and Aboriginal peoples (Bottorff et al, 2010;Hebert et al, 2009;Smith, 1999; see Chapter 9), older people (see Chapter 6), and children (Irwin, 2006; see Chapter 7).…”