Migrant health: Participatory research methods Flashcards
What is participatory research?
- Umbrella term for school of appraches (research design, methods and frameworks) that share a core philosophy of inclusivity and of recognising the value of engaging in the research process (rather than including only as subjects of the research) those who are intended to be the beneficiaries, users and stakeholders of the research.
- End users of product
- Target audience/ group who is most likely going to be the beneficiaries of this research
What is the difference between traditional approach and participatory research?
Traditional research= doing research on communities
Paricipatory research= doing research with communities
Academics are the educators/consultants
What are some of the common PR appoaches?
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Participatory Action Research (PAR)
- Combines participation and action to understand and address societal issues. Emphasizes democratic processes in participation with others, rather than research for research’s sake conducted on people/communities
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Design thinking
- Iterative design process.
- Involves users in design of product/services that are intended for them (so end product is tailored for their needs)
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Community based participary research (CBPR)
- An orientation to research often focused on health-related issues that equitably involves all partners, including researchers and community members, in all phases of the research process, from study design to dissemination
All share common thread of co-creating knowledge through partnerships between researchers, stakeholders, community members and others lived experience and insider knowledge
How does participatory research appear on a spectrum?
People’s wants and needs accurately reflect on what you want to develop
Participation takes place across the entire research process, not just at the point of data collection
- Collaborators must make decisions throughout the research process about which methods to use to achieve the desired results
- Considers the research evidence and the community impact
- No single ‘right’ way to do it
- Up to collaborators to decide the collaboration
Describe how traditional research and partcipatory research appear on a spectrum?
At each level in participatory research, you have to look at the level of participation you are trying to achieve
You have to empower the participants and inform them every step of the way about the decisions in the research. You can also empower them to make the decision about which research to implement as a community
What are the strengths and opportunities of participatory research?
- Emphasises the sharing of power (democratic approach)
- Actively and meaningfully engages and involves people with lived experience and who are the focus of the research
- Enhances people’s sense of power and dignity
- Makes use of community skills and knowledge
- End product is tailored to specific needs
- Like oral and verbal communication rather than translated in a letter
What are the weaknesses or risks of PR?
- Can be resource intensive capacity building, training, time and funds
- If done poorly, risk loss of faith in the organisation
- Risk of research fatigue
- Negative experiences may affect future participation
Why might we use participatory research in migrant populations?
- Migrants are often undeserved, face health inequities and may have specific health needs that are different from the general population
- Gain different perspectives
- Evidence shows that interventions that are driven by insights from the communities they are designed to serve are more cost-effective and lead to better interventions
- PR is aptly suited to addressing the social determinants of health (WHO, 2019; O’Mara-Eves et al, 2015)
- Collaborators decide on the degree of participation at each stage
What are the social determinants of health in relation to migration?
- Economic stability
- Social and community context
- Neighbourhood and environment
- Healthcare
- Education
What are the key considerations before embarking on a participatory research study?
- Why
- What difference are you trying to make
- What purposes will my engagement serve
- Who
- Who am I trying to engage with
- Why would they want to engage
- How
- Methodology?
- How would you maximise community involvelent
- With what impact
- What do you hope to change as a result
- What evidence
- Evidence of impact
- How else can evaluation help with the appoach
Name a case study of using participatory research in the migrant population?
- Codesigning an intervention to strengthen vaccine uptake in Congolese migrants in the UK
Background:
- Adult migrants in Europe (including recent migrants, refugees/asylum seekers, and African migrants) are at risk of being under-immunised for routine vaccinations
- Migrants face known barriers to accessing healthcare and vaccination services, highlighted by striking disparities in COVID-19 Vaccine uptake
- WHOIA2030 Promotes vaccination throughout the life course, including offering catchup vaccination to those with unknown imms status/missing doses
- Participatory research with migrants which lead to implementation is not done often or well- urgent need for studies which can co-produce and test tailored interventions with migrants
CASE STUDY: CONGOLESE VACCINE UPTAKEparticipatory research
What was the study population?
- Adults (over 18s) Congolese migrants (born in DRC and rep congo) in Hackney and local clinical, public health and community stakeholders
- Congolese migration to the UK began in the late 1980s and intensified in the late 1990s (large proportion of older adult migrants; large community in hackney)
- Evidence suggests DRC refugees are significantly underimmunised and in Hackney, black groups have the lowest routine childhood and COVID-19 Vaccination rates
- Their pre-engagement work with Congolese migrant community leaders identified specific barriers to vaccination and willingness to engage in co-production
CASE STUDY: CONGOLESE VACCINE UPTAKEparticipatory research
What are the aims and objectives of this research
Aim
- To use participatory research approaches to engage and involve Congolese adult migrants in the design of a tailored intervention to address specific barriers to vaccine uptake and stregthern vaccine uptake
Objectives
- Gather info about Congolese migrant beliefs and experiences of vaccination (routine, COVID-19, Catch up_ in the UK and understand the relevant local pathways and processes for intervention/service delivery
- Co-design a tailored, community-based intervention to increase vaccine uptake in the Congolese migrant community, which can be tested.
