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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Dorothy Wigmore, Occupational hygienist/ergonomist and educator, 538 Greenwood Place, Winnipeg, MB R3G 2P3, Canada, 204-774-4826, dorothyw@web.ca, Tobi Mae Lippin, MEd, Organization New Perspectives Consulting Group, Inc., 1429 Broad Street, Durham, NC 27705, June Fisher, Dr, Trauma Foundation, San Francisco General Hospital, 1001 Potrero Ave., San Francisco, CA 94110, Joseph Zanoni, MILR, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Public Health, 2121 W. Taylor M/C 922, Chicago, IL 60612, Leslie A. Nickels, Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, 2121 West Taylor Street, M/C 922, Chicago, IL 60612, Pamela Tau Lee, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, 2223 Fulton Street, Berkeley, CA 94720, Robyn Robbins, Occupational Safety and Health Office, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, 1775 K Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20006, Nancy Lessin, BA MS, Health and Safety Coordinator, Massachusetts AFL-CIO, 389 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, Darryl Alexander, American Federation of Teachers, 555 New Jersey Ave N.W., Washington, DC 20001, Luis Vasquez, UAW Health and Safety Department, 8000 East Jefferson Ave., Detroit, MI 48214, Sharon Simon, Labor Safety and Health Training Project, National Labor College, 10,000 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20903, and Geraldine Stella, Occupational Health & Safety Department, NYS Public Employees Federation, AFL-CIO, P.O. Box 12414, Albany, NY 12212-2414.

Participatory methods are fun. More important, they work -- in training, research, evaluation, problem-solving and other health and safety activities. That's the "buzz on the street" amongst those using participatory methods, especially popular education -- worker-centred methods designed to move people to action. But, too often, there is no forum for practitioners and those interested in developing or expanding their skills with these activities. Since we are not traditional academics, usually we don't “write up” our activities. Our stories don't “fit” in most academic publications. We rely on informal networks and opportunities to brainstorm, learn and discuss our work. This workshop is designed to start a process that expands opportunities and horizons for those using, or wanting to use, participatory methods, particularly popular education. We will start with a variety of practitioners briefly presenting methods used in their work about: participatory action research (PAR) for user-based needlestick design; taking a hotel workers' PAR project results into a year-long popular education action programme; home care workers' blood-borne pathogens training; activities to clarify union and management OHS goals; how to raise workers' expectations of taking action at work after training about workplace violence; participatory ergonomic interventions; mapping tools for local union action to tackle stressors; and using theatre and songs for training and action. Workshop participants will then select a few specific activities to practice, followed by feedback. Finally, we will discuss how to get our stories and feedback beyond the specific projects or sites where we are working.

Learning Objectives: Participants will

• Assess a variety of participatory activities presented to them;
• Practice a few of these activities, which they will select;
• Analyse and provide feedback about the activities they used;
• Discuss how "stories" and feedback about these kinds of activities can be disseminated and exchanged in new and/or better ways; and
• Start planning future activities based on the discussion.

Keywords: Participatory Action Research,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No