Abstract
Participatory action research (PAR) has an extensive history in many fields of social practice. The applied research methodology is change focused, and works towards improving a problem that has originated in the community itself; the problem is then further defined, analysed and solved by participants. PAR promotes mutually respectful relationships, shared responsibilities, and an emphasis on local capacity building that promotes environments in which communities increase their ability to uncover local barriers and harness local assets to build healthier communities.
This chapter presents a modified PAR framework that can effectively guide participatory action researchers from multiple disciplines working with communities to produce knowledge, action and change, whilst empowering communities to construct and use their own knowledge to emancipate themselves from their situations—the goal of PAR.
Being context-specific, participatory approaches to research can be applied to any study with its own methodology. A case study undertaken in Western India will exemplify how this practical PAR framework can be applied to assess and address health problems in disadvantaged communities. The study setting and context presented is in a rural district of the southern Gujarat State in India, composed predominantly of tribal communities.
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Read, C., Earnest, J., Ali, M., Poonacha, V. (2014). Applying a Practical, Participatory Action Research Framework for Producing Knowledge, Action and Change in Communities: A Health Case Study from Gujarat, Western India. In: Tiwari, R., Lommerse, M., Smith, D. (eds) M² Models and Methodologies for Community Engagement. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4585-11-8_6
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