The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #48608

Shawna L. Mercer, PhD, PHPPO, Office of Extramural Prevention Research, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, MS K56, Atlanta, GA 30341, Margaret A. Potter, JD, PHPPO, Extramural Prevention Research, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, MS K56, Atlanta, GA 30341, 770-488-8255, smercer@cdc.gov, and Lawrence W Green, PhD, PHPPO, Extramural Prevention Research, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, MS K56, Atlanta, GA 30341.

Participatory research – which is generated collaboratively in partnerships among various combinations of researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and the public – aims to increase the utility of health research findings for practice, resource allocation, and policy formulation. It engages the end-users of research results in the processes of conducting research. In fiscal year 2000, the CDC’s Office of Extramural Prevention Research made grants to support approximately 50 projects representing a wide array of participatory, community-based research on many health topics using variety of disciplinary methods. A set of “Guidelines for Participatory Research,” previously published for health promotion research by the Royal Society of Canada, provides a framework for analyzing the participatory character of these 50 projects within six domains: 1) the nature of participants’ involvement, 2) the origin of the research question, 3) the research purpose, 4) its processes and context, 5) its potential for addressing the issue of interest (i.e., taking action based on the research findings), and 6) the nature of the intended research outcomes. The results of this analysis illustrate that participation levels vary with research type, methods, applicant instititution, researcher’s discipline, and other factors. They also reveal potential limitations of the Guidelines as applied to areas other than health promotion. Finally, the analysis helps to predict how successfully the research results may eventually be taken up and applied by the intended users. The Guidelines framework can be a tool for use in the design and evaluation of participatory-research projects and in their peer-review for both funding and publication.

Learning Objectives:

Participants in this session will be able to
• recognize the scope and qualitative content of the “Guidelines for Participatory Research”;
• compare and contrast the character of participation by non-researchers in high-quality community-based prevention research projects; and
• assess the Guidelines’ usefulness in the design, evaluation, and peer-review of participatory research projects.

Keywords: Practice-Based Research, Prevention

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.