scholarly journals “Spirit, Safety, and a Stand-off ”: The Research-Creation Process and Its Roles in Relationality and Reconciliation among Researcher and Indigenous Co-Learners in Saskatchewan, Canada

Author(s):  
Myron Neapetung ◽  
Lori Bradford ◽  
Lalita Bharadwaj

Provision of safe water on reserves is an ongoing problem in Canada that can be addressed by mobilizing water knowledge across diverse platforms to a variety of audiences. A participatory artistic animation video on the lived experiences of Elderswith water in Yellow Quill First Nation, Treaty Four territory, was created to mobilize knowledge beyond conventional peer-review channels. Research findings from interviews with 22 Elders were translated through a collaborative process into a video with a storytelling format that harmonized narratives, visual arts, music, and meaningful symbols. Three themes emerged which centered on the spirituality of water, the survival need for water, and standoffs in water management. The translation process, engagement and video output were evaluated using an autoethnographic approach with two members of the research team. We demonstrate how the collaborative research process and co-created video enhance community-based participatory knowledge translation and sharing. We also express how the video augments First Nations community ownership, control, access and possession (OCAP) of research information that aligns with their storytelling traditions and does so in a youth-friendly, e-compatible form. Through the evaluative process we share lessons learned about the value and effectiveness of the video as a tool for fostering partnerships, and reconciliation. The benefits and positive impacts of the video for the Yellow Quill community and for community members are discussed.

Author(s):  
Tarun Reddy Katapally ◽  
Sylvia Abonyi ◽  
Jo-Ann Episkenew ◽  
Vivian Ramsden ◽  
Chandima Karunanayake ◽  
...  

 Assess, Redress, Re-assess: Addressing Disparities in Respiratory Health Among First Nations is an ongoing community-based participatory research initiative involving two First Nations communities in Saskatchewan. The initiative’s rationale is grounded in the ethos of transformative community-based participatory research and facilitated through integrated knowledge translation with the aim of building community capacity. The initiative’s goal was to engage community members to actively participate in all research phases, from the development of the research questions to dissemination of results and evaluation of community-chosen interventions that evolved from the results. After baseline assessment of predictors and indicators of respiratory health, a program of integrated knowledge translation was adopted. As part of this program, a community-researcher collaboration was put in place that produced two knowledge translation symposia. The two symposia have brought together First Nations community members, interdisciplinary researchers, federal and provincial policy makers, and multiple Aboriginal organizational stakeholders. The symposia provided a pathway for knowledge synthesis and sharing to ultimately integrate knowledge into practice and enable First Nations’ community capacity building in addressing and redressing critical respiratory health issues. This article delineates the processes involved in developing this model of integrated knowledge translation and highlights the continuing engagement with the participating communities supported by Knowledge Translation (KT) Symposia.


2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabra L Katz-Wise ◽  
Annie Pullen Sansfaçon ◽  
Laura M Bogart ◽  
Milagros C Rosal ◽  
Diane Ehrensaft ◽  
...  

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) involves community members collaborating with academic investigators in each step of the research process. CBPR may be especially useful for research involving marginalized populations with unique perspectives and needs. In this paper, we discuss successes and challenges of using a CBPR approach for the Trans Teen and Family Narratives Project, a longitudinal mixed-methods study to examine how the family environment affects the health and well-being of transgender and gender nonconforming youth. We describe considerations for using a CBPR approach with this population, including defining the community of transgender and gender nonconforming youth and families, engaging the community in the research process, managing conflicting agendas for community partner meetings, addressing insider/outsider status of the researchers, resolving researcher/community tensions regarding data collection tools, integrating academic and community members into a cohesive research team, developing safety plans to address participant suicidality disclosures, and differentiating the role of academics as researchers vs. advocates. We conclude by sharing lessons learned, which can inform future research to address the needs of transgender and gender nonconforming youth and families.


2021 ◽  
pp. 104973232199864
Author(s):  
Nabil Natafgi ◽  
Olayinka Ladeji ◽  
Yoon Duk Hong ◽  
Jacqueline Caldwell ◽  
C. Daniel Mullins

This article aims to determine receptivity for advancing the Learning Healthcare System (LHS) model to a novel evidence-based health care delivery framework—Learning Health Care Community (LHCC)—in Baltimore, as a model for a national initiative. Using community-based participatory, qualitative approach, we conducted 16 in-depth interviews and 15 focus groups with 94 participants. Two independent coders thematically analyzed the transcripts. Participants included community members (38%), health care professionals (29%), patients (26%), and other stakeholders (7%). The majority considered LHCC to be a viable model for improving the health care experience, outlining certain parameters for success such as the inclusion of home visits, presentation of research evidence, and incorporation of social determinants and patients’ input. Lessons learned and challenges discussed by participants can help health systems and communities explore the LHCC aspiration to align health care delivery with an engaged, empowered, and informed community.


Author(s):  
Cindy Smithers Graeme ◽  
Erik Mandawe

Employing a reflexive and co-constructed narrative analysis, this article explores our experiences as a non-Indigenous doctoral student and a First Nations research assistant working together within the context of a community-based participatory Indigenous geography research project. Our findings revealed that within the research process there were experiences of conflict, and opportunities to reflect upon our identity and create meaningful relationships. While these experiences contributed to an improved research process, at a broader level, we suggest that they also represented our personal stories of reconciliation. In this article, we share these stories, specifically as they relate to reconciliatory processes of re-education and cultural regeneration. We conclude by proposing several policy recommendations to support research as a pathway to reconciliation in Canada.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Kathryn Stewart ◽  
Nicola Spencer ◽  
Anna H. Davis ◽  
Camille Hart ◽  
Beatrice Boateng

IntroductionEffective translational research requires engagement and collaboration between communities, researchers, and practitioners. We describe a community scientist academy (CSA) developed at the suggestion of our Clinical and Translational Science Awards’ (CTSA) community advisory board to engage and capacitate community members by (1) increasing community members’ and patients’ understanding about the research process and (2) increasing their access to opportunities to influence and participate in research. A joint CTSA/community planning committee developed this 8-hour workshop including sessions on: (1) research definitions and processes; (2) study design; (3) study implementation; and (4) ways to get involved in research. The workshop format includes interactive exercises, content slides and videos, and researcher and community presenters.MethodsCommunity-based information sessions allowed assessment of community interest before piloting. Two pilots of the CSA were conducted with community members and patients. Participant data and a pre/post knowledge and feedback survey provide evaluation data.ResultsThe pilot included 24 diverse participants, over half of whom had not previously participated in research. Evaluation data suggest knowledge gains. Post-CSA, one-third have reviewed CTSA pilot grants and over 80% want to attend further training.ConclusionsThe CSA can demystify the research process for those underrepresented in research and facilitate their engagement and influence within CTSAs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 346-362
Author(s):  
Corinne A Isaak ◽  
Natalie Mota ◽  
Maria Medved ◽  
Laurence Y Katz ◽  
Brenda Elias ◽  
...  

This qualitative study explored the fit between on-reserve First Nations community members’ conceptualizations of help-seeking for mental health concerns and the Andersen Behavioral Model of Health Services Use. Youth, adults and elders (N = 115) living and or working in eight distinct First Nations communities within a tribal council area in Canada participated in focus groups or individual interviews that were transcribed, coded and then analyzed using a thematic analysis approach informed by grounded theory methodology. Resulting themes were then mapped onto the Andersen Behavioral Model of Health Services Use. Participants’ conceptualizations of predisposing characteristics including social structures, health beliefs and mental illness, enabling and impeding resources had a high degree of fit with the model. While perspectives on perceived need for mental health care, and spirituality as a health and lifestyle practice had only moderate fit with the model, these domains could be modified to fit First Nations’ interpretations of help-seeking. Participants’ perceptions of avoidant strategies and non-use of mental health services, however did not map onto the model. These findings suggest conceptualizations of help-seeking for mental health issues in these First Nations communities are only partially characterized by the Andersen Behavioral Model, suggesting there are a number of considerations to Indigenize the model. Findings also highlight potential explanations for why some members of this population may not access or receive appropriate mental health treatment. Multi-pronged efforts are warranted to link culturally normed pathways of help-seeking with effective mental health supports for First Nations community members in Canada.


Author(s):  
Tish Scott

This qualitative case study focuses on community members’ observations and perceptions of student multimedia technology projects produced in a grade 6/7 class, particularly in relation to what they affirm is important for their children’s education. The projects are community-based and rooted in the First Nations culture of a remote village in northern British Columbia (Canada).


Author(s):  
Tracey Marie Barnett

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) embraces a partnership approach to research that equitably involves community members, organizational representatives, social workers, and researchers in all aspects of the research process. CBPR begins with a research topic of importance to the community and has the aim of combining knowledge with action and achieving social change. It is community based in the sense that community members become part of the research team and researchers become engaged in the activities of the community. Community–researcher partnerships allow for a blending of values and expertise, promoting co-learning and capacity building among all partners, and integrating and achieving a balance between research and action for the mutual benefit of all partners. Various terms have been used to describe this research, including participatory action research (PAR), action research (AR), community based research (CBR), collaborative action research (CAR), anti-oppressive research, and feminist research.


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