An Intersectoral Participatory Research Approach to Illuminating Links between Public Policy and Family Health Promotion Processes among Children and Single Mothers who have left Abusive Partners

Abstract Introduction Physical activity (PA) workplace health promotion (WHP) interventions have traditionally utilised a top-down research approach at an individual level where participants are considered as passive subjects. Whereas participatory research involves the participants and relevant stakeholders within the research process utilising a bottom-up approach which focuses on the health priorities of the participants and allows the integration of the researcher's expertise and the end-users lived experiences, which has been shown to aid in the acceptability and relevance of the research. This protocol describes a scoping review which will explore, identify and map participatory research techniques and their impact when utilised in office based WHP interventions designed to improve PA levels and/or decrease sitting time. Providing an overview of key characteristics of WHP interventions which took a participatory research approach. Methods and analysis This scoping review will follow the guidelines and framework from the PRISMA-ScR. Articles will be retrieved via five databases: Web of Science, PubMED, Scopus, Google Scholar and OpenGrey. A search strategy was piloted, and relevant review articles search strategies were explored, to identify appropriate key words and MeSH terms. Two independent reviewers will screen retrieved articles based on our inclusion and exclusion criteria by title and abstract first, followed by the full text. Any discrepancies will be discussed until a consensus is reached. Data will be extracted, charted and summarised via a narrative synthesis and qualitative analyses. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval was not required or obtained for this scoping review. The completed scoping review findings will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed journal which has a research scope that encompasses participatory research and health promotion. The findings will be presented at appropriate academic conferences and to project partners to inform the design of a WHP intervention. Strengths and limitations of this study The proposed scoping review will explore and map the current participatory research techniques and approaches taken when completing an office-based workplace health promotion intervention designed to increase physical activity. The scoping review by nature and the search strategy proposed will allow for a wide breadth of literature to be explored. There is no critical appraisal or quality assessment of the included studies which is typical of a systematic review but not of a scoping review or the aim of this review article. This scoping review has a narrow focus on physical activity and may limit/exclude articles aiming to improve psychological wellbeing or work performance.

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Health promotion focusing on migrant women through a community based participatory research approach

BMC Women s Health ◽

10.1186/s12905-021-01506-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Cecilia Lindsjö ◽

Katarina Sjögren Forss ◽

Christine Kumlien ◽

Margareta Rämgård

Keyword(s):

Health Promotion ◽

Participatory Research ◽

Community Based Participatory Research ◽

Research Approach ◽

Migrant Women ◽

Health Issues ◽

Community Based ◽

Health Circle ◽

Participatory Research Approach

Abstract Background Migrants are often more vulnerable to health issues compared to host populations, and particularly the women. Therefore, migrant women’s health is important in promoting health equity in society. Participation and empowerment are central concepts in health promotion and in community-based participatory research aimed at enhancing health. The aim of this study was to identify conditions for health promotion together with women migrants through a community-based participatory research approach. Methods A community-based participatory research approach was applied in the programme Collaborative Innovations for Health Promotion in a socially disadvantaged area in Malmö, Sweden, where this study was conducted. Residents in the area were invited to participate in the research process on health promotion. Health promoters were recruited to the programme to encourage participation and a group of 21 migrant women participating in the programme were included in this study. A qualitative method was used for the data collection, namely, the story-dialogue method, where a process involving issue, reflections and actions guided the dialogues. The material was partly analysed together with the women, inspired by the second-level synthesis. Results Two main health issues, mental health and long-term pain, were reflected upon during the dialogues, and two main themes were elaborated in the process of analysis: Prioritising spare time to promote mental health and Collaboration to address healthcare dissatisfaction related to long-term pain. The women shared that they wanted to learn more about the healthcare system, and how to complain about it, and they also saw the togetherness as a strategy along the way. A decision was made to start a health circle in the community to continue collaboration on health promotion. Conclusions The community-based participatory research approach and the story dialogues constituted an essential foundation for the empowerment process. The health circle provides a forum for further work on conditions for health promotion, as a tool to support migrant women’s health.

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