Participatory Action Research – A Pragmatic approach for practical nurses

Course Content

Nurses are pragmatic, often time-poor, and therefore often resist opportunities to participate in research. Research is vital to nursing and the health care profession to provide evidence-informed practice or what has been known as  “best practice”.

Participatory Action Research is an ideal methodology for pragmatic nurses to ‘dip their toe’ into the research field and solve practical problems in their workplace collaboratively with colleagues, therefore providing improved delivery of care.

This presentation will demonstrate how to engage in Participatory Action Research (PAR) and at the same time build collaborative and democratic relationships within the workplace while enabling sustainable change. As PAR is a team effort PAR may not be so exhaustive as imagined when considering research.

PAR enables and encourages all participants to contribute, plan and partake in decision making. By following the PAR process changes made are owned by the participants and therefore valued. PAR encourages empowerment through positive social change.  According to Koch and Kralik (2006), PAR promotes reflection of practice and experiences that can lead to change thereby improving people’s lives both for individuals and the community.

Learning Outcomes

In this session you will:

• Understand the Philosophy of PAR
• Appreciate how PAR relates to Evidenced Informed Practice
• Understand how to participate in the cyclical nature of PAR
• Realise the sustainable outcomes of PAR in your workplace