Original Research
Exploring the challenges of implementing Participatory Action Research in the context of HIV and poverty
Submitted: 28 September 2010 | Published: 28 September 2010
About the author(s)
W.A. Rosenthal, School of Nursing, University of the Western Cape, South AfricaD.D. Khalil, Division of Nursing & Midwifery University of Cape Town, South Africa
Full Text:
PDF (442KB)Abstract
The findings of this study highlight some important insights into the process of engaging people in the PAR process and the experiences of HIV positive people living in the context of poverty. The study explores the challenges involved in the process of empowerment and examines the process of “transferring” power and control from the researcher to the participants. Challenges were uncovered both from the point of view of the researcher who had to “let go of control” and participants who had to take on control. Participants struggled with issues of low self-efficacy and learned helplessness. Fluctuations in health also contributed towards alternating periods of hope and despair and these problems had an impact on their motivation to participate in the study. Lack of motivation to participate is a challenge highlighted in the literature and explored in this study. Participation is necessary for a study of this nature to be of benefit to the community, but unfortunately those most in need were found to be least likely to participate.
The study also critically examines the research process that was conducted and highlights the positive and negative contribution of the process towards empowerment. Certain aspects of the research process, including the contracting process, were identified as being problematic as they emphasize the power and control of the researcher rather than the participants. Recommendations for future research include: Promoting participation among the disempowered; the Contracting process and Power relations in PAR
Keywords
Metrics
Total abstract views: 3955Total article views: 3802
Crossref Citations
1. Aboriginal parent support: A partnership approach
Ailsa Munns, Christine Toye, Desley Hegney, Marion Kickett, Rhonda Marriott, Roz Walker
Journal of Clinical Nursing vol: 27 issue: 3-4 year: 2018
doi: 10.1111/jocn.13979