TY - JOUR
T1 - Engaging community volunteers in participatory action research in Tamaki community of Auckland, New Zealand
AU - Andajani-Sutjahjo, Sari
AU - Liew, Theresa C.H.
AU - Smith, John F.
AU - Esekielu, Iutita
AU - Mason, Gabrielle
AU - Tariu, Imele
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
PY - 2018/4/1
Y1 - 2018/4/1
N2 - This article discusses the experiences of community volunteers' participation in a community-based participatory research project in Ta maki, a low socio-economic and ethnically diverse suburban community within greater Auckland City, New Zealand. In the Ta maki Community Action Research project, community volunteers were recruited and trained to conduct random household surveys (RHS) and asset mapping commissioned by community groups and government agencies in that area. The volunteers were involved in planning, coordination and ongoing governance of the project and ∼70 residents and local university students participated at different stages of the 2-year project. Over 600 RHS were completed and the volunteers' experiences were recorded in field notes, informal group discussions, daily team meetings and individual interviews and form the basis of this article. Only their experiences are discussed here, not the survey results which will be presented elsewhere. The project reflected the inherent asset-rich nature of the community via examples of individual volunteer empowerment and collective social/community capacity building. Volunteers increased their interpersonal and organizational skills, their understanding of the complexity of their community's logistics and cultural diversity, and gained an increased sense of community purpose and commitment. There was very strong endorsement of culturally sensitive research practice to recognize cultural differences and to engage productively within their richly ethnically diverse community. Full community volunteer participation in the project's governance (i.e. through design, training, implementation and ongoing consultation/management phases) was considered key to sustaining the life of project.
AB - This article discusses the experiences of community volunteers' participation in a community-based participatory research project in Ta maki, a low socio-economic and ethnically diverse suburban community within greater Auckland City, New Zealand. In the Ta maki Community Action Research project, community volunteers were recruited and trained to conduct random household surveys (RHS) and asset mapping commissioned by community groups and government agencies in that area. The volunteers were involved in planning, coordination and ongoing governance of the project and ∼70 residents and local university students participated at different stages of the 2-year project. Over 600 RHS were completed and the volunteers' experiences were recorded in field notes, informal group discussions, daily team meetings and individual interviews and form the basis of this article. Only their experiences are discussed here, not the survey results which will be presented elsewhere. The project reflected the inherent asset-rich nature of the community via examples of individual volunteer empowerment and collective social/community capacity building. Volunteers increased their interpersonal and organizational skills, their understanding of the complexity of their community's logistics and cultural diversity, and gained an increased sense of community purpose and commitment. There was very strong endorsement of culturally sensitive research practice to recognize cultural differences and to engage productively within their richly ethnically diverse community. Full community volunteer participation in the project's governance (i.e. through design, training, implementation and ongoing consultation/management phases) was considered key to sustaining the life of project.
KW - New Zealand
KW - Tamaki community
KW - community development survey
KW - community volunteers
KW - participatory action research
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85045510848&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/heapro/daw057
DO - 10.1093/heapro/daw057
M3 - Article
C2 - 27543931
AN - SCOPUS:85045510848
SN - 0957-4824
VL - 33
SP - 219
EP - 228
JO - Health Promotion International
JF - Health Promotion International
IS - 2
ER -