Sushama, P., Ghergu, C., Meershoek, A. et al. (3 more authors) (2018) Dark clouds in co-creation, and their silver linings practical challenges we faced in a participatory project in a resource-constrained community in India, and how we overcame (some of) them. Global Health Action, 11 (1). 1421342. ISSN 1654-9716
Abstract
BACKGROUND: While any type of field-based research is challenging, building action-oriented, participatory research in resource-constrained settings can be even more so. OBJECTIVE: In this article, we aim to examine and provide insights into some of the practical challenges that were faced during the course of a participatory project based in two non-notified slums in Bangalore, India, aiming to build solutions to indoor air pollution from cooking on traditional cook stoves. METHODS: The article draws upon experiences of the authors as field researchers engaged in a community-based project that adopted an exploratory, iterative design to its planning and implementation, which involved community visits, semi-structured interviews, prioritization workshops, community forums, photo voice activities, chulha-building sessions and cooking trials. RESULTS: The main obstacles to field work were linked to fostering open, continued dialogue with the community, aimed at bridging the gap between the 'scientific' and the 'local' worlds. Language and cultural barriers led to a reliance on interpreters, which affected both the quality of the interaction as well as the relationship between the researchers and the community that was built out of that interaction. The transience in housing and location of members of the community also led to difficulties in following up on incomplete information. Furthermore, facilitating meaningful participation from the people within the context of restricted resources, differing priorities, and socio-cultural diversity was particularly challenging. These were further compounded by the constraints of time and finances brought on by the embeddedness of the project within institutional frameworks and conventional research requirements of a fixed, pre-planned and externally determined focus, timeline, activities and benchmarks for the project. CONCLUSIONS: This article calls for revisiting of scientific conventions and funding prerequisites, in order to create spaces that support flexible, emergent and adaptive field-based research projects which can respond effectively to the needs and priorities of the community.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | Participatory action research; challenges; dialogue with community; research conventions; urban slums |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > School of Health and Related Research (Sheffield) > ScHARR - Sheffield Centre for Health and Related Research |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 05 Feb 2018 13:15 |
Last Modified: | 05 Feb 2018 13:15 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2017.1421342 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/16549716.2017.1421342 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:127109 |