The practice of Action Research on health in Latin America: a systematic review

Action research is an important methodology that promotes participatory processes in the community, enhancing community networks and empowering people to define their own health and generate actions. Here, we performed a systematic review using the Scopus, Web of Science (WoS) and SciELO databases t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inEducational action research Vol. 28; no. 2; pp. 293 - 309
Main Author Santoro Lamelas, Valeria
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 14.03.2020
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Access to Information
Action Research
Community
Community Involvement
Community Needs
community participation
Community Programs
Democracy
Empowerment
Health Promotion
Inclusion
Intervention
knowledge production
Latin Americans
Participatory Research
Problem Solving
Public Health
Public Policy
Research Reports
Systematic review
Visibility
Latin America
Online AccessGet full text
ISSN0965-0792
1747-5074
DOI10.1080/09650792.2019.1566083

Cover

More Information
Summary:Action research is an important methodology that promotes participatory processes in the community, enhancing community networks and empowering people to define their own health and generate actions. Here, we performed a systematic review using the Scopus, Web of Science (WoS) and SciELO databases to identify the studies carried out on health in Latin America under the category 'Action Research'. The search terms used were 'Action Research', 'Health' and 'Latin America'. We identified the following three areas of particular relevance: (a) action research is a necessary strategy to make health actions more efficient by adapting institutional actions to specific realities; (b) action research can increase the visibility of excluded groups and demonstrates the importance of being heard; and (c) action research can promote community empowerment by considering community members as knowledge agents who can transform their own reality. We report that action research processes which highlight the emancipatory and democratizing potential of community participation are subject to controversy regarding the production of and access to knowledge and the issues related to health. However, action research is not usually used in the development and implementation of institutional health interventions.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 14
ISSN:0965-0792
1747-5074
DOI:10.1080/09650792.2019.1566083