Participatory Action Research in Health Systems: A Methods Reader has been published by the Regional Network for Equity in Health in East and Southern Africa (EQUINET), Training and Research Support Centre (TARSC), the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (AHPSR), World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Canada.
Lucia D'Ambruoso co-authored the book and it was launched at the Third Global Symposium on Health Systems Research in Cape Town, South Africa - a major international event bringing together researchers, policy-makers, representatives of donor and multinational organisations and other stakeholders to share evidence, identify knowledge gaps and develop research agendas.
This book is available online from the Equinet Africa website and in hard copy from the University of Aberdeen Medical School Library.
The pupose of the methods reader is to inform, motivate and strengthen the practice of participatory action research. It is organized in five parts and seeks to explain:
- key features of participatory action research and the history and knowledge paradigms that inform it;
- processes and methods used in participatory action research, including innovations and developments in the field and the ethical and methods issues in implementing it; and
- communication, reporting, institutionalization and use of participatory action research in health systems.
As a tool to support understanding and learning, the reader uses explanatory text backed by references and resources. It includes examples of participatory action research across high, medium and low income settings and across all regions globally. It provides a selection of readings on the subject (in Part five).
The reader is aimed at a wide audience:
- the academic and research community;
- the health policy and systems research community;
- health workers and managers in health systems;
- community level organizations, including trade unions, health activists and health promoters; and
- policy actors
CITATION
Loewenson, R., Laurell, AC., Hogstedt, C., D'Ambruoso, L. & Shroff, Z. (2014). 'Participatory action research in health systems: a methods reader'. Regional Network for Equity in Health in East and Southern Africa (EQUINET) in association with Training and Research Support Centre (TARSC), Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (AHPSR), World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Canada.