Researchers must listen to vapers who say, “Nothing about us without us”
Charles GardnerJanuary 30, 2019
Years ago, at a global health research meeting, I remember one of the speakers complaining that researchers from high-income countries often “behave like a flock of seagulls” when working in low- and middle-income countries. She explained, “We have an ethical obligation not...
The value of peers in research is their lived experience…[and their potential] to identify emerging themes that to researchers may be simply ‘lost in the noise’, and further analysis can provide novel avenues for investigation which otherwise might be missed.
In other words, whether scientists are studying users or the products used, they should welcome vapers as “peers.” They should listen and try to understand vapers’ stories and learn what research questions are most important to them. This imperative echoes the effective...
Research strategies which emphasize participation are increasingly used in health research. Breaking the linear mould of conventional research, participatory research focuses on a process of sequential reflection and action, carried out with and by local people rather...
Today, participatory research and community engagement are far more common in global health research. When I served as Director of Child Health at the Optimus Foundation in Zurich, Switzerland, almost all of our 100+ grants supported community-based, participatory child...