Employing participatory methods to engage an under-researched group: Opportunities and challenges

Pettinger, Clare; Letherby, Gayle; Parsons, Julie M.; Withers, Lyndsey; Cunningham, Miranda; Whiteford, Andrew; D’Aprano, Gia; Ayres, Richard; Sutton, Carole

doi:10.1177/2059799118769820

Cited by 8 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 45 publications

(59 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…PAR holds at its heart the principle of full participation of the effected group or community within research, with the aim of education and promoting social change (Pettinger et al, 2018). PAR is a form of methodology that actively attempts to change ‘the system’, rather than passively observing the way in which it operates.…”

Section: The Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Co-constructing feminist research: Ensuring meaningful participation while researching the experiences of criminalised women

Harding

2020

Methodological Innovations

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Traditional forms of knowledge production can serve to reproduce the power imbalances present within the social contexts that research and knowledge production occur. With the interests of the discipline of criminology so closely entwined with the criminal justice system, it is no surprise that crime, punishment, rehabilitation and desistance have not been adequately examined from a gendered perspective. This article examines a participatory action research process conducted with criminalised women subject to community punishment and probation supervision in the North West of England. By examining the feminist methodology within which this research is framed, discussions about meaningful collaboration offer insights into the potential for creativity in research to become transformative. Using a range of creative qualitative research methods, specifically map making, photovoice and creative writing, this research attempts to understand the experience of criminalised women. Charting the way in which this research prioritises the collaboration of criminalised women at all stages of the research process, this article proposes that ‘meaningful’ participation is about more than process management. It is only by moving beyond typologies of participation, towards an understanding of how participation in the created research space responds to the groups wider oppression, in this case by overcoming trauma or demonstrating reform, that collaboration with holders of lived experience can uncover subjugated knowledge and facilitate transformative action.

show abstract

Section: The Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Co-constructing feminist research: Ensuring meaningful participation while researching the experiences of criminalised women

Harding

2020

Methodological Innovations

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Behaving and reflecting on ethics within research go beyond merely gaining ethical approval and securing informed consent. It is usually difficult, however, to assess whether consent is 'really' informed (see Pettinger et al, 2018). McLaughlin's (2009) critique describes how the term 'service user' for example has more recently been replaced by the term 'expert by experience', which better describes the complexities involved, as it suggests a relationship of equals (thus more akin to participatory approaches?).…”

Section: The Ethics Of 'Participation'mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Here, we would like to reflect on the challenges involved in achieving truly participatory approaches where public engagement activities are concerned. PAR principles are extremely difficult to achieve (see Pettinger et al, 2018 for an account of this). There were clear suggestions from our findings, however, that the nature by which people came together [using food] was highly meaningful, building collaborations, strengthening relationships and fostering social capital: I think if you can involve those people who are making decisions with those people affected by decisions in the same places then I think you are half-way there … that cross pollination occurs … its great.…”

Section: Opportunities For Public Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Participatory action research (PAR) is defined as a 'systematic inquiry, with the participation of those affected by the problem, for the purposes of education and action or affecting social change' (Green et al, 1995: 2, cited in Minkler, 2010. PAR is a well-documented strategy to improve the situations of vulnerable people (Crane and O-Regan, 2010), therefore was the main methodological focus of the FLM project (see more in Pettinger et al, 2018). By emphasising social action, individual justice and active participation, it is possible with PAR to 'give voice' to participants, allowing them some control over their involvement within the research process (Helfrich and Fogg, 2007).…”

Section: Creative Participatory Approaches With Foodmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Food as a Lifestyle Motivator (FLM) project, on which we report here, aimed to explore the use of participatory methods to engage and explore food experiences and behaviours in a 'harder to reach' sample (homeless individuals residing in a residential homeless centre). The primary objective was to engage individuals with participatory and creative qualitative approaches, so that a dialogue could be started that paved the way towards solutions for improved well-being (see Pettinger et al, 2017Pettinger et al, , 2018. Subsequent complementary objectives have included using participatory food events combined with arts-based creative approaches to engage a wider range of 'harder to reach' individuals and communities (from several 'complex needs' settings, including drugs/alcohol rehabilitation, homeless centres and mental health services) to explore, discover and debate some of the many topical issues around food and how this relates to well-being and wider social sustainability discourse.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Participatory food events as collaborative public engagement opportunities

Pettinger

Parsons

Letherby

et al. 2019

Methodological Innovations

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There is an urgent need to ‘get creative’ with the way we tackle social and nutritional inequalities. The Food as a Lifestyle Motivator (FLM) project has explored the use of creative participatory approaches to engage ‘harder to reach’ communities in dialogues to improve their well-being and life skills. Preliminary findings have confirmed that food can be a powerful catalyst for social inclusion with the potential to empower ‘marginalised’ individuals. Part of this exploratory study has involved two participatory food events (November 2015 and November 2016) run in a local day centre for drug and alcohol rehabilitation. The aim of these events was to bring together key stakeholders (from the service user and provider communities) to exchange food-based knowledge, using collaborative and co-creative participatory approaches. Following ethical clearance, a range of data were collected at the events to assess their ‘social impact’. These consisted of (1) audio interviews (service providers and users), (2) oral surveys (service users and key workers) and (3) observations of social cooking and eating engagement, and creative visual arts (photography, collage, food games and quizzes). In this article, we detail how the range of creative approaches used has successfully engaged individuals (average attendance: n = 80, service users: n = 32) to participate in these food-themed events. We reflect on the overarching themes from data capture of the social and therapeutic aspects of food (activities). We also reflect on the collation (and curation) of findings, systematically critiquing the approaches used, including consideration of ethics, and drivers for engagement. Finally, we consider how the utility of such creative approaches can optimise public engagement activities, not only to enhance research impact but also to inform collaborative developments with and between service users, service providers and other stakeholders, with the potential to lead to transformative food-related changes.

show abstract

Engaging with ‘less affluent’ communities for food system transformation: a community food researcher model (FoodSEqual project)

Pettinger,

Hunt,

Gardiner

et al. 2023

Proc. Nutr. Soc.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The UK food system is distorted by inequalities in access, failing the people most in need, yet it should provide access to safe, nutritious affordable food for all citizens. Dietary patterns are associated with sociodemographic characteristics, with high levels of diet-related disease mortality attributed to poor dietary habits. Disadvantaged UK communities face urgent public health challenges, yet area often treated as powerless recipients of dietary and health initiatives. The need for food system transformation has been illustrated within recent UK government policy drivers and research funding. The Food Systems Equality project1 is a research consortium that aims to ‘co-produce healthy and sustainable food systems for disadvantaged communities’. The project focusses on innovating food products, supply chains and policies, placing communities at the center of the change. Tackling the above issues requires new ways of working. Creative approaches in food research are known to empower a wider range of individuals to share their ‘lived food experience’ narratives, building relationships and corroborating co-production philosophies, thus promoting social justice, and challenging more traditional positivist/reductionist ‘biomedical’ approaches for nutrition and food studies. This review paper critiques the use of community-centric approaches for food system transformation, focusing on one, a community food researcher model 1 as an exemplar, to highlight their utility in advocating with rather than for less affluent communities. The potential for creative methods to lead to more equitable and lasting solutions for food system transformation is appraised, consolidating the need for community driven systemic change to foster more progressive and inclusive approaches to strengthen social capital. The paper closes with practice insights and critical considerations offering recommendations for readers, researchers, and practitioners, enabling them to better understand and apply similar approaches.

show abstract

Employing participatory methods to engage an under-researched group: Opportunities and challenges

Cited by 8 publications

References 45 publications

Co-constructing feminist research: Ensuring meaningful participation while researching the experiences of criminalised women

Co-constructing feminist research: Ensuring meaningful participation while researching the experiences of criminalised women

Participatory food events as collaborative public engagement opportunities

Engaging with ‘less affluent’ communities for food system transformation: a community food researcher model (FoodSEqual project)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About