Involving student peer researchers for gender-informed health promotion: a community-based participatory action research

Alcohol use is prevalent among post-secondary students and negatively impacts their academic achievement. Socially constructed gender-based perceptions can promote alcohol misuse on campus. This is a community-based participatory action research aiming to raise awareness of alcohol use and its relat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Educational action research 2023-05, Vol.31 (3), p.521-539
Main Authors: Chen, Shu-Ping, Horgan, Salinda, Jones, John, Krauss, Elisha, Stuart, Heather
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic achievement
Action Research
Alcohol Abuse
Alcohol use
College Students
Drinking
drinking culture
Empowerment
Foreign Countries
Gender
Gender Differences
gender norm perceptions
Generalizability
Health Education
Health Promotion
Initiatives
Intervention
Leadership
Local Norms
Participatory action research
Participatory Research
Peers
Postsecondary students
Program Effectiveness
Social Behavior
Student Research
Students
Substance Abuse
substance misuse
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Summary:Alcohol use is prevalent among post-secondary students and negatively impacts their academic achievement. Socially constructed gender-based perceptions can promote alcohol misuse on campus. This is a community-based participatory action research aiming to raise awareness of alcohol use and its relation to gender, bridge campus networks targeting alcohol misuse, and develop a sustainable health promotion intervention . Twelve student-peer researchers from two Canadian universities led the project during the 2017-2018 school year. One multi-phased health promotion initiative consisting of poster/video campaigns, a health promotion website, and on-campus events, was implemented on each campus. Student leadership was empowered through the Action Research Cycle and Fletcher's Ladder of Student Involvement. Data were collected through field notes, activity logs, and semi-structured interviews. A thematic analysis determined that student-peer researchers experienced a sense of accomplishment, empowerment, greater interest in the topic, and a desire to sustain the project, but faced challenges regarding the initiative structures, inter-researcher communication, and teamwork distribution. The results demonstrated that both initiatives successfully reached broad student bodies and increased student awareness of alcohol misuse. This intervention addressed culturally manifested drinking norms and demonstrated effective student-led participatory action research. However, the findings were unique to the specific campus culture and may be of limited generalizability.
ISSN:0965-0792
1747-5074
DOI:10.1080/09650792.2021.1970603