This applied research project responds to a critical problem in health and
development: how to effectively translate our research evidence to the communities
with and for whom we work in order to stimulate successful, sustainable health
promotion activities and social change. The tangible product of this research is a
handbook for health and outreach workers from immigrant communities from the Horn
of Africa living in Toronto. The handbook is a resource which will be used as a starting
point for the generation of community-based health initiatives, in this case, HIV/AIDS
prevention programs.
The research applies a conceptual approach which emphasizes participatory
action research theory and methodology, and equitable, transcontextual research
partnerships. It uses a model which merges both scientific evidence and experiential
(ethnographic) evidence of risk and vulnerability to create new understandings on
which to base the development of health programs.
Stories, grounded in ethnographic evidence, are at the heart of the research
strategy. The handbook is an example of experimental ethnographic writing: dialogue is
used to communicate research evidence, health, and skills information; and a number
of personal narrative:s have been constructed as resources to help health workers
generate dialogue on issues of risk and vulnerability, and begin a process of reflection
and action.
In a larger context, the lessons learned as this work is implemented and
evaluated in the community will contribute to the knowledge of intervention science.
The research also serves as an example of ethical anthropology and raises for
discussion ethnography's future project at the tum of the century. With attention to
how anthropologists represent their work, 'moral ethnography' can serve a larger
human project, helping us better understand what it is to be human and stimulating
moral conversations about how we want to live. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/23793 |
| Date | 09 1900 |
| Creators | Walker, Susan H. |
| Contributors | Willms, Dennis G., Anthropology |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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