Understanding the functionality of housing-related support services through mapping methods and dialogue

This article describes the experience and process of using community mapping as a tool for collecting data on the functioning of housing-related support services in Metro Vancouver. We outline our mapping methods and discuss strengths and challenges encountered during workshops aimed at understandings how the system of housing-related supports function. Strengths were that workshops provided a forum for social participation and engagement. In addition, mapping is a research tool that enables local knowledge of service functioning and service gaps to be accessed and exchanged. Challenges include ensuring diverse representation; reducing power imbalances; and having adequate space to accommodate interested participants.     

Kind discipline: Developing a conceptual model of a promising school discipline approach

This formative evaluation develops a novel conceptual model for a discipline approach fostering intrinsic motivation and positive relationships in schools. We used concept mapping to elicit and integrate perspectives on kind discipline from teachers, administrators, and other school staff. Three core themes describing kind discipline emerged from 11 identified clusters: (1) proactively developing a positive school climate, (2) responding to conflict with empathy, accountability, and skill, and (3) supporting staff skills in understanding and sharing expectations. We mapped the identified components of kind discipline onto a social ecological model and found that kind discipline encompasses all levels of that model including the individual, relational, environmental/structural, and even community levels. This contrasts with the dominant individual-behavioral discipline approaches that focus on fewer levels and may not lead to sustained student and staff motivation. The findings illustrate the importance of setting and communicating clear expectations and the need for them to be collaboratively developed. Products of the analysis and synthesis reported here are operationalized materials for teachers grounded in a “be kind” culture code for classrooms.     

Critical Discourse,Applied Inquiry and Public Health Action with Urban Middle School Students: Lessons Learned Engaging Youth in Critical Service-Learning

The Nuestro Futuro Saludable partnership designed a critical service-learning intervention focused on health equity and action. The 10-week afterschool intervention was implemented in a Boston middle school. Youths who took part in the intervention were knowledgeable about the social determinants of health in their communities, as well as to the barriers to health. Our findings indicate that engaging young people in a meaningful way will be critical if health improvement efforts are to be realized. We found that a critical service-learning framework that incorporates elements of applied inquiry and critical pedagogy was effective as a health intervention and provided opportunities for action.     

Using developmental evaluation and community-based participatory research to develop a model of supportive housing

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) and developmental evaluation (DE) have emerged over recent decades as separate approaches for addressing complex social issues. Current literature offers little with respect to the use of CBPR and DE in combination, although the two approaches are complementary. Through the current paper, we outline how CBPR and DE were used to develop a model of supportive housing for teen families. More specifically, we describe the structures and processes that contributed to this development, including (1) our partnership approach, (2) pooled resources, (3) regular opportunities for collaboration and reflection, (4) integration of multiple data sources, (5) ongoing feedback and knowledge dissemination, and (6) adjustments to program practices. We end by providing insights into the lessons that we learned through this project. Through this paper, we describe how researchers and community partners can collaboratively use CBPR and DE to develop a program model in complex community settings. Insights are offered that will be important for researchers, evaluators, and practitioners seeking to develop programming in response to complex community issues.     

Community based participatory research for public relations: Realizing potential for researcher-participant relationships

Relationship management theory and organizational-public relationships (OPR) continue to guide much of the research in public relations (PR) and espouse values of building collaborative and dialogic interactions for mutual benefit. Yet, OPR historically prioritized the use of relationships to reach organizational goals instead of public or community needs. Furthermore, the relationship paradigm has overlooked the significance of relationships between researchers and participants. This essay urges PR to prioritize researcher-participant relationships when engaging in research that concerns a community by using community-based participatory research (CBPR), an approach that values the contributions of community partners. We consider the foundations and critiques of relationships in PR and explain how CBPR can transcend some of these limitations by facilitating mutual benefit in methodological decisions. We then outline the benefits and challenges of using CBPR based on a review of studies across disciplines and the authors’ reflections on employing CBPR in their research. This work builds on the PR scholarship of relationships to offer concrete ways that researchers can utilize CBPR to address community needs and prioritize participants in the research process.     

Quality and rigor of the concept mapping methodology: a pooled study analysis

The use of concept mapping in research and evaluation has expanded dramatically over the past 20 years. Researchers in academic, organizational, and community-based settings have applied concept mapping successfully without the benefit of systematic analyses across studies to identify the features of a methodologically sound study. Quantitative characteristics and estimates of quality and rigor that may guide for future studies are lacking. To address this gap, we conducted a pooled analysis of 69 concept mapping studies to describe characteristics across study phases, generate specific indicators of validity and reliability, and examine the relationship between select study characteristics and quality indicators. Individual study characteristics and estimates were pooled and quantitatively summarized, describing the distribution, variation and parameters for each. In addition, variation in the concept mapping data collection in relation to characteristics and estimates was examined. Overall, results suggest concept mapping yields strong internal representational validity and very strong sorting and rating reliability estimates. Validity and reliability were consistently high despite variation in participation and task completion percentages across data collection modes. The implications of these findings as a practical reference to assess the quality and rigor for future concept mapping studies are discussed.     

Using a community-based participatory research approach to evaluate resident predictors of involuntary exit from permanent supportive housing

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to determine an association between resident characteristics at time of entry to permanent supportive housing and exit status.MethodsA community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach was the guiding framework for the design, implementation and evaluation of this project. This retrospective observational study used an administrative data source from a local permanent supportive housing provider to compare resident characteristics among those who left housing voluntarily or involuntarily.ResultsThe population based sample (n = 407) was comprised of 51% males and 47% African-Americans with a mean age of 40 years (SD = 11.8). Involuntary exits (IEs) occurred in 40% of the sample (n = 166). IE was less likely with receipt of mainstream benefits, compared to employment income (O.R. = .546, p = .032). IE was more likely for residents self-identifying as African-American (O.R. = 1.56, p = .037) and when children resided in the household (O.R. = 2.03, p = .013).ConclusionsDespite limitations of community-derived data, findings suggest that supportive housing providers consider income source and family status when designing interventions to decrease IEs. A CBPR approach is a promising framework to guide evaluation efforts for supportive housing programs.     

Intergenerational Forum to Enhance Students’ Engagement and Learning Outcomes: A Community-Based Participatory Research Study

The Intergenerational Forum (IF) is an innovative intervention that engages students in conducting community-based participatory research (CBPR). This set of guided learning opportunities is designed to improve college students’ understanding of aging and health issues in their communities. In this study, a total of 252 mentoring hours were provided in kind by 78 students. The majority of these youth volunteers were aspiring health professionals who had received intensive academic and field training to strengthen their interpersonal skills and ability to build meaningful one-on-one relationships with vulnerable populations. Additionally, these student volunteers were at higher risk for mental health issues. Findings revealed that as a result of IF, students were able to improve their knowledge and attitudes toward working with older people. Students were able to combine ideas from courses when completing this IF assignment. Particularly, levels of active and collaborative learning were` enriched by engagement with people representing different economic backgrounds, political views, and religious beliefs. Major themes emerged in students’ narrative data revealed their learning outcomes in the areas of self-awareness, empathy, empowerment, and new perspectives about ageism.     

Q methodology in social work research

This article examines Q methodology as an empirical method for use in social work research. Q methodology applies statistical analysis to the qualitative study of human subjectivity such as attitudes, beliefs, feelings and opinions. Q methodology is effective for obtaining data from small samples, and it offers respondents a concise and valid way of expressing their viewpoints with minimal researcher interference. The article provides an overview of Q methodology and presents an actual example of a small‐scale Q study to facilitate a better understanding of the method. We conclude that Q methodology is especially suitable in social work research with respondents who may have difficulties in expressing themselves when more conventional research methods are used. Q methodology is an efficient tool in research involving the exploration and comparison of different points of view.     

Strength in Process: Using Concept Mapping to Inform Community Coalition Development

This study reports on the use of Concept Mapping to delineate a conceptual framework germane to the planning and initial formation of tri-county rural diabetes coalition in a southeast US community. The focus of the tricounty coalition is to reduce diabetes-related inequalities in vulnerable populations. After a review of pertinent literature on community coalitions, this article explicates Concept Mapping processes utilized to plan and organize the formation of a coalition, offers analyses of the results, and discusses implications for current and future practices pertaining to community coalition work.     

Reflections on doing participatory research in health: participation,method and power

The author has reflected on her experience in facilitating three participatory research (PR) projects to identify key issues surrounding participation, method and power. The three PR projects in health, all undertaken in the same region in southeast Australia, assessed the needs of women who have experienced breast cancer, evaluated an Indigenous healthy lifestyle programme and developed and documented a model of coordinated care by a consumer group. In particular, the three participatory projects suggested that participants do not always want to maximise their own participation and may prefer external researcher involvement – relationships, confidentiality, anonymity and time‐impacted perspectives of participation. In one study, quantitative methods were selected and time and previous knowledge of research shaped participants' selection of method. In the projects, power relations were complex and issues of negotiation, inclusion, quality of research, agendas, roles and integrity are discussed. The lessons learned here are that participatory researchers can be open to differing levels of participation and methods while also comfortable with sharing decision‐making in research, even if it alters the research outcome.     

Decolonising research in a Sub-Saharan African context: exploring Ubuntu as a foundation for research methodology,ethics and agenda

In all parts of the world, researchers are addressing the colonial legacy of research. This article aims to contribute to the decolonisation of research in a sub-Saharan African context by exploring Ubuntu as an indigenous Southern African research paradigm. Drawing on lessons learnt from participatory action research with South African science teachers and on Ubuntu research literature, I develop, and reflect on, characteristics of an Ubuntu research ethics, agenda and methodology. Understood as humanness, Ubuntu encompasses a dimension of becoming human and being human. Both dimensions are realised through lived community and respectful, caring relations with other living beings and the environment. Thus, ethical protocols evolve around relating positively to others. Ubuntu research agendas contribute to strengthening community and methodologies are community based, relational and participatory. The emphasis of the article is not on presenting Ubuntu research as categorically oppositional to conventional methodologies, but on an approach to research that is grounded in indigenous African epistemologies.     

Recognition as a framework for ethical participatory research: developing a methodology with looked after young people

This paper reflects on a project which involved the authors working in partnership with a working group of looked after children and young people established by a small unitary local authority to develop a pledge defining what support, services and care looked after children can expect from them. The authors aimed to develop an approach which ensured that the young people’s voices were heard and also that the well-being of those involved as participants remained at the centre of the process throughout. We argue that Honneth’s theory of recognition, which identifies three forms of recognition as important to ensure that human beings feel assured of their dignity or integrity – in brief love, rights and solidarity – offers a useful framework for achieving this. The main principles which emerged were: (i) building the research around the young people’s existing relationships, (ii) respecting the group’s decisions and (iii) honouring the views expressed.     

Concept mapping as a method to enhance evidence-based public health

In this paper we explore the suitability of concept mapping as a method for integrating knowledge from science, practice, and policy. In earlier research we described and analysed five cases of concept mapping procedures in the Netherlands, serving different purposes and fields in public health. In the current paper, seven new concept mapping studies of co-produced work are added to extend this analysis.For each of these twelve studies we analysed: (1) how the method was able to integrate knowledge from practice with scientific knowledge by facilitating dialogue and collaboration between different stakeholders in the field of public health, such as academic researchers, practitioners, policy-makers and the public; (2) how the method was able to bring theory development a step further (scientific relevance); and (3) how the method was able to act as a sound basis for practical decision-making (practical relevance).Based on the answers to these research questions, all but one study was considered useful for building more evidence-based public health, even though the extent to which they underpinned actual decision-making varied. The chance of actually being implemented in practice seems strongly related to the extent to which the responsible decision-makers are involved in the way the concept map is prepared and executed.     

The personal is political: a feminist reflection on a journey into participatory arts-based research with sex worker migrants in South Africa

ABSTRACT

This article offers a personal reflection of my journey into participatory arts-based research with sex work migrants in South Africa. It begins by sharing some background information of how my own experience as a migrant woman, and my layered (sometimes conflicted) identities, have continued to shape and influence much of my scholarly work, including my commitment to engaging in research that supports (or at least tries to support) social justice. Through this article, I offer an example of how the ‘personal is political’ is entwined in feminist values of research and engagement. Those who experience the issues under investigation must be considered equal partners in research processes. Collaborative forms of knowledge production can support social justice, particularly if efforts strive to shift the centre from which knowledge is traditionally generated and disseminated.     

Postmigration Living Difficulties,Help-Seeking and Community Resilience in the Initial Stages of Migration: Coproducing Community Practice with Recent Irish Migrants to London

This article describes a community-based participatory action research (CBPAR) project that examined the postmigration living difficulties (PMLD), help-seeking and community resilience of recent Irish migrants to London (n = 176). The majority of respondents were young adults, in managerial or professional occupations and in good or very good health. Mixed methods indicate inadequate planning for relocation and poor social support as the main difficulties in the initial stages of migration. Community factors promoting resilience included employment opportunities, local and transnational supports, and cultural familiarity and acceptance. Community participation in the action orientated phase of this CBPAR is discussed.     

“We don't want to talk about that”: Overcoming barriers to rural aging research and interventions on sensitive topics

Geographical, economic, social and cultural barriers to accessing services in rural areas are widely reported. Less widely discussed are dilemmas posed by individual and community reluctance to address sensitive health issues. This article, focusing on the highly sensitive area of mental health, and employing a participatory action approach, describes the natural history of a project, the Mental Health and Aging Initiative (MHAI) to enhance awareness of mental health issues in rural Kentucky-Appalachian communities and overcome the reluctance of individuals in these communities to seek assistance. Funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), MHAI involved an educational intervention to improve knowledge about mental health and aging in rural Appalachian counties. The need to overcome significant community reluctance to engage in discussion of mental health resulted in significant modification of the protocol. The intervention was grounded in recognition of four key aspects of the local situation: (1) the need to understand the sensitivity of mental health as an element of rural culture; (2) the critical role of local community leaders as points of entry, acceptance, and action; (3) the need to overcome social stigma and reframe the topic of mental health in a more positive light; and (4) the need for methodological innovation in developing an empowering educational action plan oriented toward community-wide long-term impact. The intervention model that emerged from these considerations was based on engaging community leaders, providing educational and technical resources, and nurturing the acceptance by individual rural residents of responsibility for monitoring community mental health. This motif became a central theme in a strategy designed to facilitate culture change and acceptance of mental health as a community concern. It involved active engagement of community representatives in defining and implementing an intervention consistent with participatory action research as a means of empowering rural residents in monitoring and addressing sensitive health care issues. Given that many issues in rural health are difficult to address because of such sensitivity, the approach described is considered to have application in other contexts.     

And then the internet happened: Thoughts on the future of concept mapping

Over 25 years ago, in the late twentieth century, concept mapping emerged as a mixed method approach to inquiry that enables a group of people to conceptualize their thinking about a specific topic. Since then, the application of concept mapping has spread widely and an easy prediction for the future is that this trend is likely to continue; a more important and greater challenge is to think about the ways in which concept mapping may and should evolve. Discussed here are thoughts about the future of concept mapping including some predictions of likely directions and suggestions for new possibilities. Thoughts on the future are grounded in concept mapping applications that have emerged and gained ground in recent years; these include exploring wicked problems in communities and integrating concept mapping with other methods of inquiry. Thoughts on the future are also grounded in the social and cultural milieu in which we find ourselves at this time. The influence of social media and internet technologies has led to the emergence peer production and crowdsourcing as approaches to co-create information, knowledge, products and services. These tactics may create fertile ground for the further spread of concept mapping. This same collaborative milieu has produced the open software movement which in turn, offers opportunities to enhancing the methodology of concept mapping.     

Assessing emotional and social health using photographs: An innovative research method for rural studies and its applicability in a care-farming program for youth

A framework for assessing photographs for the emotional and social health of young people (SHAPE) is described and tested, within the context of a rural program. Two independent raters assessed the photographs of participants. To assess inter-rater reliability, Cohen’ K and Kendall’s W were calculated. The two reviewers’ assessments of photographs were in agreement. The assessment of emotional/behavioural display showed 82% agreement. Agreement between reviewers’ judgements of proxemics (W = .866), interaction (W = .722), engagement (W = .932) and overall impression (W = .804) were all significant (p < .005). The method yielded results indicating that participants found gardening immediately engaging but their approach to equines exhibited a change from fascination to confidence during the program. The visual-diary method is a useful and sensitive method for research: where resources are limited; to complement traditional measures; for use with people who lack appropriate verbal communication or literacy skills to complete questionnaires; young children; other underrepresented groups.