Transcript Community Perspective - Axelle Janczur

OMHARN Multicultural
Health Conference:
Community perspective – how to
advance multicultural research
Community Involvement in
Research
None
Top-down
A Lot
Consultation
Collaboration
Partnership
Community-led
(Adapted from Winer & Ray, 2000)
Suggested Steps in CBR
Background work (‘getting ready’)
Establish the partnership
Training
and
Building
Capacity
(ongoing)
Collaboratively Design the Research
Project
Collect the data
Analyze and interpret the data
Disseminate (share) your Findings
Take Action / Advocate for Change
Monitor &
Evaluate
your
Activities
and
Engage in
Critical
Reflection
(ongoing)
Research Re-defined:
Opportunities
The emergence of community
agency led research is re-defining
research relationships, processes
and outcomes in new and
interesting ways

Academic-community-participant
relationship is being
reconfigured/blurred in interesting
ways

New areas of research priorities

Participatory involvement of
community members is being
taken to new, deeper levels

Enhanced role of dissemination
and advocacy
Critical Issues in Community
Agency Led Research Projects

Challenges of promoting equitable
relationship between academics and
community

Challenges of working closely with
marginalized community members

Quality and equity of participation
of community

New Ethical
Issues/Dilemmas

Strengthening political weight of
community agency led research
Other Challenges

Funding Constraints and negative pressures from
funding agencies

Human Resources

Access to other resources (eg data analysis softwares,
online journals)

Time

Capacity

Incentives and recognition
Best Practices in Research
Collaboration

Develop and engage in collaborative models of research
design, implementation and writing (results in much
richer research questions, better methodology and high
quality reports)

Don’t expect community agencies to do all the outreach
and recruitment work (there is an ‘institutional cost’ on
community agencies to do recruitment)

Build in adequate funding to support/remunerate
participation from community agencies and community
members (eg admin costs, research time stipend for
community agency partners, training costs)
Best Practices in Research
Collaboration

Ensure proper recognition of community agencies/groups
for their role in the research (not just as a footnote or
acknowledgement but as co-authors wherever appropriate)

Broaden dissemination activities (beyond journal
publications)

Get involved in advocacy (don’t leave dissemination and
advocacy work to community)

Hire community members (not just graduate students) as
community/peer researchers or RAs