Research translation through participatory research

The case of two community-based projects in low-income African settings

Dados Bibliográficos

ID6134735
AutoresDeborah Isobell (0000-0003-2409-8631, Institute for Social and Health Sciences, University of South Africa, South Africa; South African Medical Research Council-University of South Africa’s Violence, Injury and Peace Research Unit, South Africa, autor correspondente), Sandy Lazaru (0000-0002-7316-0609, South African Medical Research Council), Sandy Lazarus (South African Medical Research Council-University of South Africa’s Violence, Injury and Peace Research Unit, South Africa; Institute for Social and Health Sciences, University of South Africa, South Africa), Shahnaaz Suffla (0000-0002-4597-5472, South African Medical Research Council-University of South Africa’s Violence, Injury and Peace Research Unit, South Africa; Institute for Social and Health Sciences, University of South Africa, South Africa), Mohamed Seedat (0000-0001-9018-3370, Institute for Social and Health Sciences, University of South Africa, South Africa; South African Medical Research Council-University of South Africa’s Violence, Injury and Peace Research Unit, South Africa)
Ano2016
Volume14
Fascículo4
Páginas393-411
Data de publicação2016-01-23
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoAction Research (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1476-7503 • E-ISSN: 1741-2617
EditoraSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1476750315626779
OpenAlexW2265533456
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas4
Referências citadas25

In the context of a call for public health research to address social challenges and transform communities and society, research translation has increasingly become an imperative in South Africa. Research translation seeks to improve real-world settings and enhance quality of life by applying research-generated knowledge. These goals are shared by proponents of participatory action research (PAR). However, the way in which research is pursued constitutes a major focus for PAR, where the paradigmatic position influences how we relate to knowledge and people, and whether and how we achieve the goals concerned. This article contrasts the meta-theoretical positioning of PAR with that of research translation as it is pursued within public health circles, and then argues how PAR both challenge and optimise the espoused goals of research translation through its accent on co-learning, knowledge co-construction, social action and the dialectic between research and action. We offer two African-centred examples of community-engaged research focusing on violence prevention, and safety and peace promotion to illustrate how the participatory mechanisms of empowerment and agency, knowledge co-construction and knowledge sharing foster research translation. Attention to power dynamics, exemplified through researcher reflexivity is emphasised as a key challenge for researchers wishing to address public health challenges

Action research · Agency (philosophy · Community-based participatory research · Context (archaeology · Empowerment · Knowledge management · Knowledge translation · Participatory action research · Pedagogy · Political science · Public relations · Reflexivity · Social science · Sociology · Community Health and Development · Health Policy Implementation Science · Participatory Visual Research Methods