Setting research priorities in age-related vision loss: The first step in a critical participatory action research approach

2021 ◽  
pp. 026461962098421
Author(s):  
Colleen McGrath
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Participatory Action Research ◽  
Vision Loss ◽  
Community Support ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Activity Engagement ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Critical Participatory Action Research

There are no known examples of studies utilizing a critical participatory action research (CPAR) approach with older adults aging with vision loss, to better understand how environmental factors impact activity engagement. As such, the aim of this article was to share the process of initiating a CPAR approach with older adults with age-related vision loss to identify a set of research and/or rehabilitation priorities related to the influence of physical, social, cultural, political, and institutional environmental factors on activity engagement. This study utilized a CPAR approach. Eight older adults (aged 65 years of age and older) with a diagnosis of age-related vision loss (including macular degeneration, glaucoma, and/or diabetic retinopathy) took part in three half-day meetings as well as a one-on-one interview over a period of 2 months. Through a series of facilitated group discussions, the older adults identified research and/or rehabilitation priorities related to how environmental influences support or limit the participation of older adults with age-related vision loss (ARVL) in everyday activities. Three research and/or rehabilitation priorities were identified including (1) community mobility; (2) assistive technology; and (3) community support and services. For each priority, the older adults, along with the researchers, answered four key questions including (1) What do we need to know more about? (i.e., research question); (2) How could we learn more about this? (i.e., proposed methods of data collection); (3) Who would we need to involve as key stakeholders? (i.e., participants); and (4) What would change look like? (i.e., action potential). This study shared the process of initiating a CPAR process with eight older adults with ARVL to identify research and/or rehabilitation priorities. By doing so, this study will help to provide direction for future ARVL research and rehabilitation that is grounded, methodologically, in a CPAR approach.

Critical Participatory Action Research in a Rural Community Committed to Peacebuilding in Times of Crisis

2021 ◽  
pp. 199-218
Author(s):  
Lina Trigos-Carrillo ◽  
Laura Fonseca
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Participatory Action Research ◽  
Rural Community ◽  
Communicative Action ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Community Research ◽  
Process Time ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Academic Communities ◽  
Critical Participatory Action Research

Conducting critical community research during the COVID-19 pandemic has brought unexpected challenges to academic communities. In this chapter, the authors analyze the obstacles faced in a Critical Participatory Action Research (CPAR) education project with a rural community of former guerrilla members in the Amazon piedmont in Colombia. After this analysis, the authors present four CPAR principles to support critical community work during difficult times. The authors argue that communicative action, horizontal community participation in all the stages of the research process, time commitment, and the leverage of other competing needs should be guaranteed and maintained during times of crisis. CPAR offers opportunities to advocate better conditions for the most affected communities in moments of increasing inequality.

Participatory Action Research With Older Adults: A Critical Interpretive Synthesis

2019 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. e413-e427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Marie Corrado ◽  
Tanya Elizabeth Benjamin-Thomas ◽  
Colleen McGrath ◽  
Carri Hand ◽  
Debbie Laliberte Rudman
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Participatory Action Research ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Population Aging ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Critical Interpretive Synthesis ◽  
Design And Methods

Abstract Background and Objectives Given population aging, the meaningful involvement of older adults in influencing policy and programs through participatory action research (PAR) is increasingly vital. PAR holds promise for equitable participation, co-learning, community mobilization, and personal and social transformation, however, little scholarly attention has been given to critically evaluating how PAR has been taken up with older adults. The objective of this review was to critically evaluate the use of PAR with older adults. Research Design and Methods A critical interpretive synthesis (CIS) of 40 PAR studies with older adults was conducted. Critical engagement with the articles identified dominant tendencies, limits of these tendencies, and proposed ways forward. Results Within the majority of articles reviewed, older adults were not prominent partners in PAR given their often limited involvement in designing the research questions, learning research skills and knowledge, and implementing findings for change. Furthermore, power differentials between researchers and older adults were evident, as older adults were often positioned as participants rather than partners. Finally, this article demonstrates various boundaries on the foci of studies related to inclusivity and sustainability. Discussion and Implications This study revealed that the promises PAR holds are often not fully realized in projects with older adults, given that they are rarely positioned as equitable partners, co-learners, or agents for change. The findings have the potential to stimulate further uptake of PAR research with an older adult population, highlighting areas for change in systems and research practices.

Critical Participatory Action Research: A Feminist Project for Validity and Solidarity

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 433-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Fine ◽  
María Elena Torre
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Participatory Action Research ◽  
Feminist Research ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Research Praxis ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Critical Participatory Action Research ◽  
Trans Youth

We present critical participatory action research as an enactment of feminist research praxis in psychology. We discuss the key elements of critical participatory action research through the story of a single, national participatory project. The project was designed by and for LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, asexual, plus) and gender-expansive youth; it was called What’s Your Issue? We provide details of the research project, the dreams, desires, experiences, and structural precarity of queer and trans youth. We write this article hoping readers will appreciate the complexities of identities, attend to the relentless commitment to recognition and solidarities, learn the ethical and epistemological principles of critical participatory action research as a feminist and intersectional praxis, and appreciate the provocative blend of research and action toward social justice. Online slides for instructors who want to use this article for teaching are available on PWQ's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/page/pwq/suppl/index

Transition Discoveries: Participatory Action Research to Design Pathways to Success

2021 ◽  
pp. 216514342110261
Author(s):  
Joan Kester ◽  
Matthew F. Flanagan ◽  
Julie Stella
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Participatory Action Research ◽  
Transition Planning ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Adults With Disabilities ◽  
Youth And Young Adults ◽  
Indicator Framework ◽  
Services And Supports ◽  
Critical Participatory Action Research

A multiyear critical participatory action research study was conducted with a total of 503 youth and young adults with disabilities (ages 14–25), family members, and transition stakeholders across the State of Pennsylvania. Youth and young adults with disabilities, families, and stakeholders served as participant researchers who collaborated in operationalizing post-school outcomes and the high-quality transition practices, resources, services, and supports that contribute to achieving them. As a result of this study, the Transition Discoveries Quality Indicator Framework was developed. We provide examples of how the content of this framework can be used to design experiences for youth and families to learn about transition planning, programs, and services. Guidelines for ecologically relevant research and implications for practice in secondary transition are provided.

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