Academic Researchers’ Roles in Participatory Action Research, Theory Development and the Improvement of Community-based Health Projects

Abstract

This article examines the typology of participatory approaches used in a youth health project based on the author’s experience as a researcher and facilitator in the “What every adolescent has a right to know” initiative for HIV/AIDS prevention among youth. In this case study, timely feedback of academic research, which was conducted concurrently with the facilitation of the project, provided important insights that helped to better conceptualize the goals of the project and improved its functioning. Furthermore, the academic research demonstrated that project participants emphasized one of three distinct types of PAR, variably emphasizing the research, education and action components of PAR to different degrees. This led to re-conceptualization of the initial theoretical model derived from the literature, and thus supported the academic goal of contributing to theory development in PAR. Considering that there are many participatory projects in health and other disciplines, more empirical studies involving process examination of participatory projects may be helpful for academics and practitioners to theorize PAR in order to learn what works and what does not work in community-based projects.