IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v176y2017icp85-92.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Community-based participatory research in a heavily researched inner city neighbourhood: Perspectives of people who use drugs on their experiences as peer researchers

Author

Listed:
  • Damon, Will
  • Callon, Cody
  • Wiebe, Lee
  • Small, Will
  • Kerr, Thomas
  • McNeil, Ryan

Abstract

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) has become an increasingly common approach to research involving people who use(d) drugs (PWUD), who are often employed as peer researchers on these projects. This paper seeks to understand the impact of CBPR on PWUD, particularly those living in heavily researched and stigmatized neighbourhoods where CBPR projects are often located. This study draws on 14 in-depth interviews with PWUD who had previous experience as both peer researchers and research participants in CBPR projects conducted between July 2010 and February 2011. The study employed a CBPR approach in its study design, recruitment, interviewing, and analysis. Our analysis indicates that participants were supportive of CBPR in principle and described the ways in which it helped contest stigmatizing assumptions and researcher bias. Participants also reported positive personal gains from participation in CBPR projects. However, many participants had negative experiences with CBPR projects, especially when CBPR principles were implemented in a superficial or incomplete manner. Participants emphasized the importance of inclusiveness and active deconstruction of hierarchy between researchers and community members to successful CBPR among drug using populations. CBPR has been widely adopted as a research approach within marginalized communities but has often been implemented inconsistently. Still, CBPR can empower communities to contest forms of social stigma that are often reproduced through academic research on marginalized communities. Our findings describe how the benefits of CBPR are maximized when CBPR principles are consistently applied and when community-based researchers are supported in ways that reduce power hierarchies. This suggests a need for capacity building within affected communities to develop independent support, training, and grievance processes for peer researchers.

Suggested Citation

  • Damon, Will & Callon, Cody & Wiebe, Lee & Small, Will & Kerr, Thomas & McNeil, Ryan, 2017. "Community-based participatory research in a heavily researched inner city neighbourhood: Perspectives of people who use drugs on their experiences as peer researchers," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 85-92.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:176:y:2017:i:c:p:85-92
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.01.027
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953617300345
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.01.027?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Guta, Adrian & Strike, Carol & Flicker, Sarah & J. Murray, Stuart & Upshur, Ross & Myers, Ted, 2014. "Governing through community-based research: Lessons from the Canadian HIV research sector," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 250-261.
    2. Hatzenbuehler, M.L. & Phelan, J.C. & Link, B.G., 2013. "Stigma as a fundamental cause of population health inequalities," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 103(5), pages 813-821.
    3. Parker, Richard & Aggleton, Peter, 2003. "HIV and AIDS-related stigma and discrimination: a conceptual framework and implications for action," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 13-24, July.
    4. Cohen, D.A. & Mason, K. & Bedimo, A. & Scribner, R. & Basolo, V. & Farley, T.A., 2003. "Neighborhood physical conditions and health," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 93(3), pages 467-471.
    5. Loïc Wacquant & Tom Slater & Virgílio Borges Pereira, 2014. "Territorial Stigmatization in Action," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 46(6), pages 1270-1280, June.
    6. Takahashi, Lois M., 1997. "The socio-spatial stigmatization of homelessness and HIV/AIDS: Toward an explanation of the NIMBY syndrome," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 45(6), pages 903-914, September.
    7. Loïc Wacquant, 2016. "Revisiting territories of relegation: Class, ethnicity and state in the making of advanced marginality," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 53(6), pages 1077-1088, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Phyllis Raynor & Cynthia Corbett & Delia West & D’Arion Johnston & Kacey Eichelberger & Alain Litwin & Constance Guille & Ron Prinz, 2023. "Leveraging Digital Technology to Support Pregnant and Early Parenting Women in Recovery from Addictive Substances: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-14, March.
    2. Fleming, Taylor & Collins, Alexandra B. & Boyd, Jade & Knight, Kelly R. & McNeil, Ryan, 2023. "“It's no foundation, there's no stabilization, you're just scattered”: A qualitative study of the institutional circuit of recently-evicted people who use drugs," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    3. Bradbury-Jones, Caroline & Isham, Louise & Taylor, Julie, 2018. "The complexities and contradictions in participatory research with vulnerable children and young people: A qualitative systematic review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 215(C), pages 80-91.
    4. Miewald, Christiana & McCann, Eugene & Temenos, Cristina & McIntosh, Alison, 2019. "“I do my best to eat while I'm using”: Mapping the foodscapes of people living with HIV/AIDS who use drugs," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 226(C), pages 96-103.
    5. Amy E. Lesen & Chloe Tucker & M. G. Olson & Regardt J. Ferreira, 2019. "‘Come Back at Us’: Reflections on Researcher-Community Partnerships during a Post-Oil Spill Gulf Coast Resilience Study," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-26, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Smith-Morris, Carolyn, 2017. "Epidemiological placism in public health emergencies: Ebola in two Dallas neighborhoods," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 106-114.
    2. Felner, Jennifer K. & Dudley, Terry D. & Ramirez-Valles, Jesus, 2018. "“Anywhere but here": Querying spatial stigma as a social determinant of health among youth of color accessing LGBTQ services in Chicago's Boystown," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 181-189.
    3. Clair, Matthew & Daniel, Caitlin & Lamont, Michèle, 2016. "Destigmatization and health: Cultural constructions and the long-term reduction of stigma," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 223-232.
    4. Jansen, Natalie Anne & Saint Onge, Jarron M., 2015. "An internet forum analysis of stigma power perceptions among women seeking fertility treatment in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 184-189.
    5. Cort, David A. & Tu, Hsin Fei, 2018. "Safety in stigmatizing? Instrumental stigma beliefs and protective sexual behavior in Sub-Saharan Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 144-152.
    6. Rance, Jake & Newland, Jamee & Hopwood, Max & Treloar, Carla, 2012. "The politics of place(ment): Problematising the provision of hepatitis C treatment within opiate substitution clinics," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(2), pages 245-253.
    7. Labbé, Fabienne & Pelletier, Catherine & Bettinger, Julie A. & Curran, Janet & Graham, Janice E. & Greyson, Devon & MacDonald, Noni E. & Meyer, Samantha B. & Steenbeek, Audrey & Xu, Weiai & Dubé, Ève, 2022. "Stigma and blame related to COVID-19 pandemic: A case-study of editorial cartoons in Canada," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).
    8. Carmen H Logie & Jesse I R Jenkinson & Valerie Earnshaw & Wangari Tharao & Mona R Loutfy, 2016. "A Structural Equation Model of HIV-Related Stigma, Racial Discrimination, Housing Insecurity and Wellbeing among African and Caribbean Black Women Living with HIV in Ontario, Canada," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(9), pages 1-20, September.
    9. Mazanderani, Fadhila & Paparini, Sara, 2015. "The stories we tell: Qualitative research interviews, talking technologies and the ‘normalisation’ of life with HIV," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 66-73.
    10. Chen Zhang & Xiaoming Li & Yu Liu & Shan Qiao & Liying Zhang & Yuejiao Zhou & Zhenzhu Tang & Zhiyong Shen & Yi Chen, 2016. "Stigma against People Living with HIV/AIDS in China: Does the Route of Infection Matter?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(3), pages 1-15, March.
    11. Winskell, Kate & Sabben, Gaëlle, 2016. "Sexual stigma and symbolic violence experienced, enacted, and counteracted in young Africans’ writing about same-sex attraction," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 143-150.
    12. Mayank Aggarwal & Anindya S. Chakrabarti & Chirantan Chatterjee, 2023. "Movies, stigma and choice: Evidence from the pharmaceutical industry," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(5), pages 1019-1039, May.
    13. Karen M. Davison & Vidhi Thakkar & Shen (Lamson) Lin & Lorna Stabler & Maura MacPhee & Simon Carroll & Benjamin Collins & Zachary Rezler & Jake Colautti & Chaoqun (Cherry) Xu & Esme Fuller-Thomson & B, 2021. "Interventions to Support Mental Health among Those with Health Conditions That Present Risk for Severe Infection from Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A Scoping Review of English and Chinese-Langu," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-22, July.
    14. Garthwaite, Kayleigh & Bambra, Clare, 2017. "“How the other half live”: Lay perspectives on health inequalities in an age of austerity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 268-275.
    15. Layland, Eric K. & Maggs, Jennifer L. & Kipke, Michele D. & Bray, Bethany C., 2022. "Intersecting racism and homonegativism among sexual minority men of color: Latent class analysis of multidimensional stigma with subgroup differences in health and sociostructural burdens," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    16. Wangui Kimari, 2018. "Activists, care work, and the ‘cry of the ghetto’ in Nairobi, Kenya," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 1-7, December.
    17. Yung Yau, 2011. "Willingness to Participate in Collective Action: The Case of Multi-owner Housing Management," ERES eres2011_155, European Real Estate Society (ERES).
    18. Yang Xiao & Siyu Miao & Chinmoy Sarkar & Huizhi Geng & Yi Lu, 2018. "Exploring the Impacts of Housing Condition on Migrants’ Mental Health in Nanxiang, Shanghai: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-14, January.
    19. Rivers, Ian & Gonzalez, Cesar & Nodin, Nuno & Peel, Elizabeth & Tyler, Allan, 2018. "LGBT people and suicidality in youth: A qualitative study of perceptions of risk and protective circumstances," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 1-8.
    20. Iván Sánchez-Iglesias, 2023. "The “Why” in Mental Health, Stigma, and Addictive Behaviors: Causal Inferences in Applied Settings," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(20), pages 1-7, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:176:y:2017:i:c:p:85-92. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.