Makhoul Jihad, Nakkash Rima, Harpham Trudy, Qutteina Yara
Department of Health Promotion and Community Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
Department of Health Promotion and Community Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
Health Promot Int. 2014 Sep;29(3):510-7. doi: 10.1093/heapro/dat049. Epub 2013 Jul 19.
Despite the abundance of the literature which discusses factors supporting or inhibiting effective participation of community members in community-based research, there is a paucity of publications analysing challenges to participation in complex settings. This manuscript describes an intervention built on researcher-community partnership amid complex social conditions which challenged participation of community members at different stages of the research process. The research took place in a Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut, Lebanon and 1 of 12 in Lebanon which suffer from deteriorating social, economic and physical conditions perpetuated by state-imposed restrictions. The research team developed a community coalition which was involved in all stages of planning, designing, implementation and dissemination. In all those stages the aim was to maintain rigorous research, to follow a 'clean mind' approach to research, but maintain principles of community participation which necessitate 'a dirty hand'. Despite commitment to the principles of community-based participatory research, participation of community members (including youth, parents and teachers) was affected to a great extent by the social, physical and structural conditions of the community context. Characteristics of the context where research is conducted and how it affects community members should not be overlooked since multiple factors beyond the researchers' control could interfere with the rigour of scientific research. Researchers need to develop a plan for participation with the community from the beginning with an understanding of the community forces that affect meaningful participation and address possible deterrence.
尽管有大量文献讨论支持或抑制社区成员有效参与社区研究的因素，但分析复杂环境中参与挑战的出版物却很少。本手稿描述了一种干预措施，该措施建立在复杂社会条件下研究者与社区的伙伴关系之上，这些条件在研究过程的不同阶段对社区成员的参与构成了挑战。该研究在黎巴嫩贝鲁特的一个巴勒斯坦难民营进行，该难民营是黎巴嫩12个社会、经济和物质条件不断恶化且因国家强制限制而长期存在问题的难民营之一。研究团队组建了一个社区联盟，该联盟参与了规划、设计、实施和传播的所有阶段。在所有这些阶段，目标是保持严谨的研究，遵循“纯净思维”的研究方法，但同时坚持社区参与原则，而这需要“有所沾染”。尽管致力于社区参与式研究原则，但社区成员（包括青年、家长和教师）的参与在很大程度上受到社区环境的社会、物质和结构条件的影响。进行研究的环境特征及其对社区成员的影响不应被忽视，因为研究人员无法控制的多种因素可能会干扰科学研究的严谨性。研究人员需要从一开始就制定与社区的参与计划，了解影响有意义参与的社区力量，并应对可能的阻碍因素。
