2 Department of Sociology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
3 Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Glob Health Promot. 2019 Apr;26(3_suppl):6-16. doi: 10.1177/1757975919831654.
This paper describes a poverty reduction approach to addressing an important determinant of health and well-being among Canada's First Nations. The Poverty Action Research Project (PARP) has its origins in the Make Poverty History Committee established by the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) in 2008. Academic members of the Committee in cooperation with the AFN subsequently applied for an action research grant to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). The project selected five volunteer First Nations from different parts of Canada, hiring a coordinator in each, undertaking background research, developing a profile and working with First Nation representatives in the development of a strategy to address upstream determinants of health and well-being. Subsequently, project team members within each region assisted where needed with plan implementation, supporting some initiatives with small grants. This paper provides insights from the project in several key areas, including First Nation rejection of the concept of poverty as usually defined, the importance of taking action to strengthen collectivities as well as individuals, the feasibility of assisting First Nations who are at different points in their development journey, the strengths of the leadership within the First Nations, and finding the appropriate balance between the elected and business leadership. These insights emerged from dialogue and reflection among project team members and community participants over the life of the project. We also describe what we have learned about how to engage effectively and with mutual respect with First Nations in this kind of project. The paper concludes with a review of our experiences with the policies and practices of the national research granting councils and the universities, which have not fully adjusted to the requirements of action research involving First Nations.
本文描述了一种扶贫方法，旨在解决加拿大第一民族健康和福祉的一个重要决定因素。贫困行动研究项目（PARP）起源于 2008 年第一民族大会（AFN）成立的“消除贫困行动委员会”。委员会的学术成员随后与第一民族大会合作，向加拿大卫生研究院（CIHR）申请了一项行动研究赠款。该项目从加拿大不同地区选择了五个志愿第一民族，每个民族都聘请了一名协调员，开展背景研究，制定概况，并与第一民族代表合作制定解决健康和福祉上游决定因素的战略。随后，每个地区的项目团队成员都在需要时协助实施计划，用小额赠款支持一些倡议。本文从几个关键领域提供了该项目的见解，包括第一民族对通常定义的贫困概念的拒绝、采取行动加强集体以及个人的重要性、协助处于不同发展阶段的第一民族的可行性、第一民族内部领导层的优势以及在民选领导和商业领导之间找到适当的平衡。这些见解是项目团队成员和社区参与者在项目过程中的对话和反思中产生的。我们还描述了我们在这种项目中如何与第一民族进行有效和相互尊重的接触方面所学到的知识。本文最后回顾了我们在国家研究资助委员会和大学的政策和实践方面的经验，这些政策和实践尚未完全适应涉及第一民族的行动研究的要求。
