The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #48319

Paul Renner¹, Gary Morris², Tom McQuiston², Tobi Lippin³, and Linda Cook². (1) Labor Institute, 31 West 15th St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10011, 917 606 0511, paullabor@laborinstitute.org, (2) PACE Union, 105 Potomac St., Westernport, MD 21562, (3) New Perspectives Consulting Group, Inc., 1429 Broad St., Durham, NC 27705

Participatory research and evaluation applies popular education principles of critical thinking and analysis, particularly around issues of worker power. Members of the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical, and Energy Workers Union (PACE) Evaluation Team will present their experiences regarding involvement in a three-year, multi-site, case study evaluation of PACE’s systems of safety programs. Team members, who are worker trainers, staff, and outside evaluators, represent the researchers, the audience for the research, and for several worker trainers who work at different case study sites, those being researched.

In this session, we will present our experiences, and then, engage the group in a discussion about how to use participatory research and evaluation within your own health and safety programs to facilitate worker empowerment and leadership. We will also explore how control of evaluation and research can advance and deepen a group’s critical thinking and analysis of their issues by generating findings that meet real information needs.

PACE’s systems of safety programs involve workers from all levels in identifying and fixing root causes of health and safety problems with an emphasis on primary preventive systems, such as design and engineering. The SOS framework categorizes the systematic components that exist in a workplace that allow it to operate safely. The framework highlights design and engineering as the primary system for eliminating or reducing hazardous conditions.

Learning Objectives: After this session, participants will be able to

• Discuss how participatory research and evaluation can be used as a popular education tool.
• Develop ways of applying the concepts of participatory research and evaluation to their own health and safety programs.
• Recognize the importance of involving people from different perspectives in research and evaluation.

Keywords: Participatory Research, Labor

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical, and Energy Workers International Union
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: PACE contracts with employer, the Labor Institute