Levels of participation and power relationships.....

I have been reading and re-reading a 2003 journal article by Lori Letts: Occupational therapy and participatory action research: A partnership worth pursuing.  

Letts discusses the key principles of participatory action research and outlines examples of PAR projects undertaken by herself and other occupational therapists. These include PAR projects working with a range of groups (occupational therapists, parents of children with disabilities, people with physical disabilities, older adults and adults with mental health issues).

Letts notes that PAR is a good fit with occupational therapists commitment to client-centred and occupation-focused practice.

Whilst on one level Letts' article functions as an endorsement of the relationship of participatory action research to occupational therapy she also raises a number of challenging questions regarding levels of participation within  the PAR projects she discusses. As outlined earlier in this blog the ideal within PAR is that participants be involved in all stages of the research...in reality, a number of the projects did not meet this ideal....

• The research question/problem was generated by the researcher not from the concerns of the community
• There was variable participation....participants were more involved in some phases of the research than others
• Participants were more likely to be involved in the action phases of the projects than the analysis of data and the distribution of findings to the wider community

I am left with the following questions.....

How much participation is enough? 

Is some participation is better than none? 

How do you ensure high levels of participant ownership of research?

How do you balance the different types of expertise that community members and external researchers bring to the project? Especially when some forms of knowledge/expertise are valued more than others.

Letts notes that it is essential that there is a transparent process of identifying power differences and that researchers/academics working within a PAR framework are willing to share knowledge and power with participants. 

Reference:

Letts, L. (2003). Occupational therapy and participatory action research: A partnership worth pursuing. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 57, 1, 77-87.