participATIVE research PROCESSES (prp)

The engagement of research participants in the process of research is a challenging yet rewarding approach to knowledge generation. Within the Health Promotion Research Centre in NUI Galway, we have been working on the development of research protocols that are designed to facilitate that engagement. The approach explicitly concerns power within the research cycle and the goal that research can be in itself health promoting. This page has links to a number of published articles and reports that set the context, describe, discuss and interpret our approach. We are happy to share with others interested in similar or allied ideas and welcome such contact to:  Dr. Saoirse Nic Gabhainn & Dr. Jane Sixsmith

Books / Reports

Molcho, M., Kelly, C., Sheridan, A., Barry, M., Hanafin, S., & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2008). Ireland: social cohesion for mental well-being in adolescence. In WHO (Eds.) Social cohesion for mental well-being among adolescents. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe.

Nic Gabhainn, S., O’Higgins, S., Galvin, M. & Barry, M (2008). The Implementation of Social, Personal and Health Education in Ireland. Dublin: Departments of Education and Science and Health and Children

O’Higgins, S., Delaney, E.N., Moore, M., Nic Gabhainn, S. & Inchley, J. (2007) Development of a method for improving student’s participation in Ireland. In V. Barnekow, G. Buijs, S. Clift, B. Bruun Jensen, P. Paulus, D. Rivett & I. Young (Eds.). Health Promoting Schools: A resource for developing indicators. Copenhagen: WHO-Europe. [download]

O’Higgins, S., Delaney, E-N., Moore, M., Inchley, J. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2006) Development of a method for student’s participation: An example from the Republic of Ireland. Report to the European Network of Health Promoting Schools, WHO European Office, Copenhagen. [download]

Nic Gabhainn, S. & Sixsmith, J. (2005) Children’s Understandings of Well-being. National Children’s Office, Department of Health and Children: Dublin. [download]

Journal articles

O’Higgins, S. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (forthcoming). Youth participation in setting the agenda: learning outcomes for sex education in Ireland. In press Sex Education: Sexuality, Society and Learning, July 2010

Hanafin, S., Brooks, A-M., Carroll, E., Fitzgerald, E., Nic Gabhainn, S. & Sixsmith, J. (2007) Achieving consensus in developing a national set of child well-being indicators. Social Indicators Research, 80 (1), 79-104. [download]

Nic Gabhainn, S., Sixsmith, J., O’Higgins, S., Delaney, E-N., Moore, M. & Inchley, J. (2007). Health promoting school indicators: the development of schematic models by children. Health Education, 107(6), 494-510.

Sixsmith, J., Nic Gabhainn, S., Fleming, C. & O’Higgins, S. (2007). Childrens’, parents’ and teachers’ perceptions of child wellbeing. Health Education, 107(6), 511-523.

Nic Gabhainn, S. & Sixsmith, J. (2006) Photographing well-being: enabling children’s participation in research. Children & Society, 20, 249-259. [download]

Sixsmith, J., Nic Gabhainn, S., Fleming, C. & O’Higgins, S. (in press) Perspectives on children’s understandings of well being: Parents, teachers and children. In press Health Education, 107. [download]

Nic Gabhainn, S., Sixsmith, J., O’Higgins, S., Delaney, E-N., Moore, M.  & Inchley, J. (in press) Indicators of success for health promoting schools: The development of schematic models by children. In press Health Education, 107. [download]

Peer reviewed abstracts

O’Higgins, S. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2010). Participatory research methodology applied to elicit young Irish peoples’ perceived learning outcomes for sex education. Paper presented to Researching Young Lives: Power, Representation and the Research Process, Conference of the Institute for the Study of Knowledge in Society, Limerick, April 2010.

Doyle, P., Kelly, C., Cummins, G., Sixsmith, J., Molcho, M., O’Higgins, S. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2010). In consultation with young people: the process of producing a youth friendly resource using data from HBSC Ireland. Paper presented to Researching Young Lives: Power, Representation and the Research Process, Conference of the Institute for the Study of Knowledge in Society, Limerick, April 2010.

Nic Gabhainn, S. & O’Higgins, S. (2010). Youth participation in setting the agenda: learning outcomes for sex education. Poster presented to the IUHPE World Conference, Geneva, July 2010.

Nic Gabhainn, S., Clarke, N., Byrne, M. & Sixsmith, J. (2010). A participatory approach to increasing active commuting to school among children: who should do what. Poster presented to the IUHPE World Conference, Geneva, July 2010.

Doyle, P., Kelly, C., Cummins, G., Sixsmith, J., Molcho, M., O’Higgins, S. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2010). Developing a Youth Friendly HBSC Health Resource in consultation with Children and Young People. Abstract to be presented to the 9 ^th Global Conference – Making sense of Health, Illness and Disease, Oxford, September 2010.

O’Higgins, S. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2009) Using an adapted participative methodological approach within a PhD study on Sexual Health Promotion. Paper presented at The Child: Postgraduate Research Conference, Belfast, June 2009.

Cummins, G., Kelly, C., Doyle, P., Molcho, M., Sixsmith, J. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2009). The process of producing a youth friendly resource using data from HBSC Ireland 2006. Paper presented to the 13 ^th Annual HPRC conference: Closing the Gap in Child and Adolescent Health: the Settings Approach, Galway, June 2009.

O’Higgins, S. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2009). Adapted participative methodological approaches to sexual health promotion research. Paper presented to the 13 ^th Annual HPRC conference: Closing the Gap in Child and Adolescent Health: the Settings Approach, Galway, June 2009.

Brennan, S. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2009). Developing primary care services for adolescents: a participatory approach. Paper presented to the 13 ^th Annual HPRC conference: Closing the Gap in Child and Adolescent Health: the Settings Approach, Galway, June 2009.

Sixmith, J. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2008). Liaising, facilitating or enaging: power through process in research with children. Presented to The British Psychological Society Annual Conference, Dublin, April, 2008, and the Health Promotion Summer Conference, Galway, June 2008.

Nic Gabhainn, S. & Sixsmith, J. (2008). Agreement between educational stakeholders on the conceptualisation of children’s wellbeing. Presented to The British Psychological Society Annual Conference, Dublin, April, 2008, and the Health Promotion Summer Conference, Galway, June 2008.

Sixsmith, J. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2008). Participative Research Processes (PRP): the health promoting potential of health promotion research. Paper presented to the 8 ^th European Conference of the International Union of Health Promotion and Education, Torino, September 2008.

Sixsmith, J., Nic Gabhainn, S., Fleming, C. & O’Higgins, S. (2008). Child well-being: children’s, parents’ and teachers’ perceptions. National Institute of Health Sciences Research Bulletin, 4(4), s44-s45.

Sixsmith, J. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2007) Power through process: An exploration of participatory research with children. Paper presented to the 19th IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion and Health Education Health Promotion Comes of Age: Research, Policy & Practice for the 21st Century, Vancouver, June 2007. [download]

O’Higgins, S., Nic Gabhainn, S., Sixsmith, J., Delaney, E-N., Moore, M. & Inchley, J. (2007) Development of a method for students participation to create Health Promoting School Indicators. Paper to be presented to the Researching Children’s Worlds Conference, Galway, October, 2007 [download]  

Nic Gabhainn, S. & Sixsmith, J. (2004) Children’s perceptions of well-being: context and opportunity. Poster presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the WHO-HBSC research group. St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, May 2004.

Nic Gabhainn, S. & Sixsmith, J. (2004) Picturing health: socio-demographic patterns in young people’s understanding of well-being. Poster presented to the Annual Health Promotion Conference: European Perspectives on Health and Wellbeing, Galway, July 2004.

Fleming, C., Nic Gabhainn, S. & Sixsmith, J. (2004) Picturing health – parent and teacher perspectives on children’s understanding of well-being. Poster presented to the Annual Health Promotion Conference: European Perspectives on Health and Wellbeing, Galway, July 2004. .

Invited presentations

Nic Gabhainn, S. (2010). Participative Research Processes with Children. Paper presented to the Institute for Social Sciences 21, University College Cork, March 2010.

Nic Gabhainn, S. (2009). Healthy schools: some of what we know. Paper presented to Healthy Schools, Healthy People, Galway Education Centre, Galway, May 2009.

O’Higgins, S. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2009). Issues in the implementation of SPHE in schools. Paper presented to the Dail na nOg, Dublin, October 2009

Pursell, L., Kearns, N. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2009). Young peoples participation in a policy development process to develop the national set of well-being indicators for children in Ireland. Paper presented to the WHO/HBSC Forum Case Study Authors Meeting, Galway, June 2009.

Pursell, L., Kearns, N., Molcho, M., Brook, A-M., Hanafin, S. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2009). The socio-environmental context of child well-being in Ireland. Paper presented to the WHO/HBSC Forum, Siena, October 2009.

Nic Gabhainn, S. (2008). Child wellbeing: policy process, indicator development and data use. Paper presented to the Faculte de Psychologie, Universite de Toulouse le Mirail, Toulouse, France, December 2008.

Nic Gabhainn, S. &  Sixsmith, J. (2007) Perspectives on children's understanding of well-being: similarities and differences in the perspectives of children, parents and teachers. Seminar to the Federative Research Institute (126), Faculte de Medicin, Universite Paul Sabateir de Toulouse, June 2007.   [download]

Nic Gabhainn, S., Sixsmith, J., O’Higgins, S., Delaney, E. & Moore, M. (2007) Indicators of success for health in schools: the development of schematic models by children. Paper presented to the National Institute of Medical Research (Epidemiology and Public Health), May 2007, Toulouse, France.   [download]

Nic Gabhainn, S., Sixsmith, J. (2007) Photographing well-being. Paper presented to the National Institute of Medical Research (Epidemiology and Public Health), May 2007, Toulouse, France.

O’Higgins, S., Nic Gabhainn, S., Sixsmith, J., Delaney, E., Moore, M. & Inchely, J. (2006) Child developed indicators of health promoting schools. Paper presented to WHO 5 ^th Workshop on the Evaluation of the European Network of Health Promoting Schools, Sigriswil, Switzerland, June 2006.   [download]

Nic Gabhainn, S. & Sixsmith, J (2005) The contribution of children’s understandings of wellbeing to the development of National Wellbeing Indicators for Irish Children. Paper presented at the Launch of the national wellbeing indicators for children, June 2005, Dublin. [download] Nic Gabhainn, S. & Sixsmith, J. (2004) Children’s understanding(s) of wellbeing . Paper presented to the National Children’s Office Research Conference, Dublin, Ireland, November 2004. [download]

Other Publications

Sixsmith, J. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2009). Applicazione dei processi di ricerca partecipativa con i bambini [Exploring the application of Participatory Research Processes (PRP) with children]. Health and Territory, 172, 15-19.

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