Participatory action research to understand and reduce health disparities.
Participatory action research (PAR) is an excellent way to systematically learn about the conditions under which people experience health disparities, what it is like from the perspective of those experiencing such disparities and, even more importantly, how to ameliorate this major public health problem and create a more equitable and effective health care system. This article describes the method of PAR, supports the appropriateness of PAR to learn about and reduce health disparities, and then presents some specific examples of research projects that have employed or are planning to employ PAR. These examples are from the work of several authors of this article, who are members of an interdisciplinary working group that serves as a forum for discussion of issues related to qualitative research methods and facilitates the development of qualitative studies. All of the authors of this article are part of a task force of this working group that is focusing specifically on community outreach with the goal of reducing health disparities within specific communities.
Olshansky
Ellen
E
Department of Health and Community Systems, University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, PA 15261, USA. olshane@pitt.edu
Sacco
Diane
D
Braxter
Betty
B
Dodge
Pamela
P
Hughes
Ebony
E
Ondeck
Michele
M
Stubbs
Margaret L
ML
Upvall
Michele J
MJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000208:ethnology; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology; D003256:Community Participation; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000592:standards; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000208:ethnology; D011634:Public Health; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012036:Refugees / Q000523:psychology; D012107:Research Design; D012907:Smoking / Q000208:ethnology; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D012935:Social Justice; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000523:psychology; D044465:White People / Q000208:ethnology