What do people benefit from a citizen science programme? Evidence from a Rwandan citizen science programme on malaria control

Asingizwe, Domina; Poortvliet, P. Marijn; Vliet, Arnold J. H. van; Koenraadt, Constantianus J. M.; Ingabire, Chantal Marie; Mutesa, Léon; Leeuwis, C.

doi:10.1186/s12936-020-03349-8

Cited by 15 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The citizens were motivated towards participating in a CS initiative for their personal development, but also for learning more about various environmental issues as well as for being socialised. It is worth mentioning that our findings are in agreement with the literature [120][121][122]. For example, McDougle et al (2011) reported that young adults were motivated to volunteer for social reasons [123].…”

Section: Digitalisation As the Media Of Communicationsupporting

confidence: 92%

A Systematic Literature Review on the Participation Aspects of Environmental and Nature-Based Citizen Science Initiatives

Vasiliades

Hadjichambis

Paraskeva-Hadjichambi

et al. 2021

Sustainability

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It is commonly argued that, despite the tremendous resonance Citizen Science (CS) has shown in recent years, there is still lack of understanding of important aspects defining citizens’ participation and engagement in CS initiatives. While CS initiatives could provide a vehicle to foster forms of participation contributing to the democratization of science, there is still limited attention paid to the “Citizen” component of the Citizen Science term. For the purpose of this work, we systematically reviewed the available literature for empirical studies in respect to citizens’ participation in environmental and nature-based CS initiatives established during the last two decades, using the PRISMA methodology. The participatory facet of the retrieved 119 CS initiatives was analysed on the basis of: (a) exclusion and inclusion demographic factors, (b) CS models and practices, (c) facilitators and constraints of citizen’s participation, and (d) environmental citizenship. Our findings show that the majority of the CS initiatives did not place restrictions on gender participation; however, we have identified that mostly highly educated adults participated in the reviewed initiatives. In addition, most of the CS initiatives reported in the literature were situated in the EU and USA, were mostly limited to the local scale, and primarily followed the contributory model. Academic institutions were found to coordinate the majority of the CS initiatives examined. By using digital technologies, academic scientists were able to control and increase data quality, as well as to engage a broader audience, even though they were mostly treating volunteers as “data collectors”, desiring their long-term engagement. Therefore, it will be of CS benefit to be better aligned with the mentality and needs of citizens. In this direction CS initiatives should trigger citizens’ learning gains and interpersonal/social benefits and personal, environmental, and social motivations, but also to shift their goals towards contributing to science and citizens’ connection with nature. On the other hand, there is a need to overcome any design and implementation barriers, and to enhance democratization through a more participative engagement of active and aware citizens, thus promoting environmental citizenship.

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Section: Digitalisation As the Media Of Communicationsupporting

confidence: 92%

A Systematic Literature Review on the Participation Aspects of Environmental and Nature-Based Citizen Science Initiatives

Vasiliades

Hadjichambis

Paraskeva-Hadjichambi

et al. 2021

Sustainability

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“…Experimental projects generally do not last that long, and the challenge is to design programmes that are sustainable in the long run, particularly in terms of acceptability and participation, and that have high quality data and visible impact on the problem under study (Mboera et al 2014, Rubin et al 2020. After the study in Rwanda, volunteers showed significantly more involvement in malaria-related activities and had higher acceptance rates of IRS, which both could be considered as indicators of success of the project (Asingizwe et al 2020). With regards to participation rates, these depend on numerous factors such as perceived severity of the malaria problem, perceived barriers and subjective norms.…”

Section: Role Of Communities In Malaria Vector Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

8. Larval source management for malaria control: prospects for new technologies and community involvement

Koenraadt¹

2021

Ecology and Control of Vector-Borne Diseases

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Article 25fa states that the author of a short scientific work funded either wholly or partially by Dutch public funds is entitled to make that work publicly available for no consideration following a reasonable period of time after the work was first published, provided that clear reference is made to the source of the first publication of the work.This publication is distributed under The Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU) 'Article 25fa implementation' project. In this project research outputs of researchers employed by Dutch Universities that comply with the legal requirements of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act are distributed online and free of cost or other barriers in institutional repositories. Research outputs are distributed six months after their first online publication in the original published version and with proper attribution to the source of the original publication.

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“…The science shop model is, in essence, a form of citizen science in which community members take an active role from the outset in co-defining research questions and contributing to the research activities designed to address those questions. Elsewhere, for example in Rwanda, such approaches to developing malaria control solutions led to a significant improvement in malaria-related prevention and treatment-seeking behaviour, as well as individual and collective benefits to both volunteers and the society at large [46]. It can also lead to policy change-for example, Loonen et al [47] used these approaches to highlight ineffective malaria control strategies in DRC which led to a change of strategy at the WHO and the national and local levels.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards Sustainable Community-Based Systems for Infectious Disease and Disaster Response; Lessons from Local Initiatives in Four African Countries

et al. 2021

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This paper explores the role of decentralised community-based care systems in achieving sustainable healthcare in resource-poor areas. Based on case studies from Sierra Leone, Madagascar, Uganda and Ethiopia, the paper argues that a community-based system of healthcare is more effective in the prevention, early diagnosis, and primary care in response to the zoonotic and infectious diseases associated with extreme weather events as well as their direct health impacts. Community-based systems of care have a more holistic view of the determinants of health and can integrate responses to health challenges, social wellbeing, ecological and economic viability. The case studies profiled in this paper reveal the importance of expanding notions of health to encompass the whole environment (physical and social, across time and space) in which people live, including the explicit recognition of ecological interests and their interconnections with health. While much work still needs to be done in defining and measuring successful community responses to health and other crises, we identify two potentially core criteria: the inclusion and integration of local knowledge in response planning and actions, and the involvement of researchers and practitioners, e.g., community-embedded health workers and NGO staff, as trusted key interlocuters in brokering knowledge and devising sustainable community systems of care.

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What do people benefit from a citizen science programme? Evidence from a Rwandan citizen science programme on malaria control

Cited by 15 publications

References 22 publications

A Systematic Literature Review on the Participation Aspects of Environmental and Nature-Based Citizen Science Initiatives

A Systematic Literature Review on the Participation Aspects of Environmental and Nature-Based Citizen Science Initiatives

8. Larval source management for malaria control: prospects for new technologies and community involvement

Towards Sustainable Community-Based Systems for Infectious Disease and Disaster Response; Lessons from Local Initiatives in Four African Countries

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