Pub Date : 2023-10-12DOI: 10.1080/09581596.2023.2260936
Angèle Bilodeau, Catherine Chabot, Mélissa Di Sante, Nadine Martin, Louise Potvin
Action aimed at developing healthier living conditions requires intersectoral collaboration, both across sectors and between levels of government. It also calls for the commitment of political and institutional authorities at municipal and higher levels. This article focuses on strategies of local intersectoral networks rooted in civil society for addressing living conditions. A longitudinal cross-case analysis was performed on eight case studies in Montreal (Canada). Data sources include 1445 documents and 41 interviews. Case studies were analyzed based on a theoretical framework focusing on critical events and a repertoire of transitional outcomes (TOs) that local intersectoral networks mobilised in order to produce change. The analysis focussed on the distribution of TOs in each case. Two types of strategies were identified. The Do It strategy relied primarily on acquiring resources as well as expanding and strengthening networks and projects. In this strategy, networks held the key decision-making and action levers to drive projects by themselves. In contrast, the Make It Happen strategy was mainly constructed around actions that led to self-representation and influencing others. In this strategy, networks held certain levers – such as mobilizing their citizen and community bases – but they also had to convince decision-makers to support action. This article describes and compares the key features of these two types of action strategies for local change.
{"title":"Two strategies used by local intersectoral networks to create healthier environments: a cross-case analysis in the Montreal urban setting","authors":"Angèle Bilodeau, Catherine Chabot, Mélissa Di Sante, Nadine Martin, Louise Potvin","doi":"10.1080/09581596.2023.2260936","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2023.2260936","url":null,"abstract":"Action aimed at developing healthier living conditions requires intersectoral collaboration, both across sectors and between levels of government. It also calls for the commitment of political and institutional authorities at municipal and higher levels. This article focuses on strategies of local intersectoral networks rooted in civil society for addressing living conditions. A longitudinal cross-case analysis was performed on eight case studies in Montreal (Canada). Data sources include 1445 documents and 41 interviews. Case studies were analyzed based on a theoretical framework focusing on critical events and a repertoire of transitional outcomes (TOs) that local intersectoral networks mobilised in order to produce change. The analysis focussed on the distribution of TOs in each case. Two types of strategies were identified. The Do It strategy relied primarily on acquiring resources as well as expanding and strengthening networks and projects. In this strategy, networks held the key decision-making and action levers to drive projects by themselves. In contrast, the Make It Happen strategy was mainly constructed around actions that led to self-representation and influencing others. In this strategy, networks held certain levers – such as mobilizing their citizen and community bases – but they also had to convince decision-makers to support action. This article describes and compares the key features of these two types of action strategies for local change.","PeriodicalId":51469,"journal":{"name":"Critical Public Health","volume":"199 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135969122","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-25DOI: 10.1080/09581596.2023.2260935
Bernadette Kina Kombo, Matthew Thomann, Helgar Musyoki, Kennedy Olango, Samuel Kuria, Martin Kyana, Memory Otieno, Margaret Njiraini, Janet Musimbi, Pariniti Bhattacharjeea, Robert Lorway, Lisa Lazarus
ABSTRACTSince the 1990s, researchers have used community-based participatory approaches to achieve outcomes relevant to local communities, to build collaborative and sustainable research infrastructures, and to address disparities in knowledge production. Notwithstanding these strengths, communities and researchers have questioned its success in addressing power imbalances inherent in collaborative research encounters. In this methodological paper, we describe a novel community-based program science approach to guide an interdisciplinary research project on HIV self-testing among men who have sex with men in three Kenyan counties. Drawing on ethnographic field notes, we detail how community researchers and their academic and programmatic partners collaborated through all phases of the research process, including research design and data collection. Importantly, community researchers also played an integral role in data analysis and dissemination, going well beyond the conventional role of ‘community engagement’ in global health research. We also present findings from qualitative interviews conducted by community researchers with their peers to inform the rollout of HIV self-testing kits in their respective county-contexts. Our approach highlights that engaging community directly in evidence production allows research findings – owned and generated by communities on their own behalf – to be fed more swiftly and effectively into community-led program delivery.KEYWORDS: Community-based participatory researchmen who have sex with menHIV testing Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1. Article 162 of the Kenyan Penal Code, a relic of British colonial-era laws criminalizing ‘carnal knowledge against the order of nature’, was upheld by the Kenyan High Court in 2019.Additional informationFundingThe work was supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation [OPP-11191068].
{"title":"From collaborator to colleague: a community-based program science approach for engaging Kenyan communities of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men in HIV research","authors":"Bernadette Kina Kombo, Matthew Thomann, Helgar Musyoki, Kennedy Olango, Samuel Kuria, Martin Kyana, Memory Otieno, Margaret Njiraini, Janet Musimbi, Pariniti Bhattacharjeea, Robert Lorway, Lisa Lazarus","doi":"10.1080/09581596.2023.2260935","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2023.2260935","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACTSince the 1990s, researchers have used community-based participatory approaches to achieve outcomes relevant to local communities, to build collaborative and sustainable research infrastructures, and to address disparities in knowledge production. Notwithstanding these strengths, communities and researchers have questioned its success in addressing power imbalances inherent in collaborative research encounters. In this methodological paper, we describe a novel community-based program science approach to guide an interdisciplinary research project on HIV self-testing among men who have sex with men in three Kenyan counties. Drawing on ethnographic field notes, we detail how community researchers and their academic and programmatic partners collaborated through all phases of the research process, including research design and data collection. Importantly, community researchers also played an integral role in data analysis and dissemination, going well beyond the conventional role of ‘community engagement’ in global health research. We also present findings from qualitative interviews conducted by community researchers with their peers to inform the rollout of HIV self-testing kits in their respective county-contexts. Our approach highlights that engaging community directly in evidence production allows research findings – owned and generated by communities on their own behalf – to be fed more swiftly and effectively into community-led program delivery.KEYWORDS: Community-based participatory researchmen who have sex with menHIV testing Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1. Article 162 of the Kenyan Penal Code, a relic of British colonial-era laws criminalizing ‘carnal knowledge against the order of nature’, was upheld by the Kenyan High Court in 2019.Additional informationFundingThe work was supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation [OPP-11191068].","PeriodicalId":51469,"journal":{"name":"Critical Public Health","volume":"26 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135815214","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-21DOI: 10.1080/09581596.2023.2259063
Sophie McKenzie, Cassandra Hesse, Anna Carson, Trevor Goodyear, Rod Knight
ABSTRACTThis study explores service providers’ accounts of working with sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth and the improvised and non-institutionalized adaptations to their delivery of care in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We present a narrative analysis of data from qualitative, in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted between July 2020 and August 2021 with 16 service providers who deliver programs and services for SGM youth in British Columbia (BC), Canada. Drawing on a central narrative of uncertainty in driving improvised adaptations to service provision amid the pandemic, we identified three sub-narratives: (i) uncertainty as characteristic of liminality; (ii) uncertainty as conducive to cooperation and collaboration; and (iii) uncertainty as enabling ‘blue-sky thinking’ and innovation. In each sub-narrative, we document service providers’ accounts of how they navigated both uncertainty in the absence of direction from their organizations and constraint by COVID-19 public health mandates and guidelines. Amid pandemic-driven interruptions in structured guidance, these improvised practices of care became key in shaping the delivery of care to SGM youth in BC. These accounts offer insights into how uncertainty can be harnessed as a potent source of improvement of services for SGM youth now and throughout future phases of the COVID-19 pandemic.KEYWORDS: Uncertaintysexual and gender minoritiesyouthCOVID-19adaptations AcknowledgementsWe acknowledge our participants, each of whom took time from their busy schedules to share information about their experiences. We would also like to thank Naseeb Bolduc, Peter Hoong and Alya Govorchin for their contributions to this study.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingWe acknowledge the support of our funder, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research [CTW-155550].
{"title":"“Anticipate the need”: a narrative analysis of service providers’ experiences working with sexual and gender minority youth in British Columbia, Canada, during the COVID-19 pandemic","authors":"Sophie McKenzie, Cassandra Hesse, Anna Carson, Trevor Goodyear, Rod Knight","doi":"10.1080/09581596.2023.2259063","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2023.2259063","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACTThis study explores service providers’ accounts of working with sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth and the improvised and non-institutionalized adaptations to their delivery of care in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We present a narrative analysis of data from qualitative, in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted between July 2020 and August 2021 with 16 service providers who deliver programs and services for SGM youth in British Columbia (BC), Canada. Drawing on a central narrative of uncertainty in driving improvised adaptations to service provision amid the pandemic, we identified three sub-narratives: (i) uncertainty as characteristic of liminality; (ii) uncertainty as conducive to cooperation and collaboration; and (iii) uncertainty as enabling ‘blue-sky thinking’ and innovation. In each sub-narrative, we document service providers’ accounts of how they navigated both uncertainty in the absence of direction from their organizations and constraint by COVID-19 public health mandates and guidelines. Amid pandemic-driven interruptions in structured guidance, these improvised practices of care became key in shaping the delivery of care to SGM youth in BC. These accounts offer insights into how uncertainty can be harnessed as a potent source of improvement of services for SGM youth now and throughout future phases of the COVID-19 pandemic.KEYWORDS: Uncertaintysexual and gender minoritiesyouthCOVID-19adaptations AcknowledgementsWe acknowledge our participants, each of whom took time from their busy schedules to share information about their experiences. We would also like to thank Naseeb Bolduc, Peter Hoong and Alya Govorchin for their contributions to this study.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingWe acknowledge the support of our funder, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research [CTW-155550].","PeriodicalId":51469,"journal":{"name":"Critical Public Health","volume":"30 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136136905","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-18DOI: 10.1080/09581596.2023.2256945
Shoba Ramanadhan, Sabrina Werts, Collin Knight, Sara Kelly, Justin Morgan, Lauren Taylor, Sara Singer, Alan Geller, Emma Louise Aveling
Multi-sector efforts to address the structural drivers of health inequities faced by racial and ethnic minority communities in the USA often ignore the potential of action by for-profit businesses, perhaps due to skepticism about the role of business in such efforts. However, given the need to harness diverse forms of capital to address structural harms, and recent calls to identify oft-ignored systemic pathways to health, we examined the role of business – specifically small, locally-owned businesses – in promoting community health and well-being. This study explored the role of small, locally owned businesses in community health, and local understandings of the value of such action, in the context of Roxbury, Massachusetts, a historically Black community with a substantial Latinx population. We conducted 20 semi-structured interviews between June and November 2021 with small business owners and staff, as well as leaders and staff from local non-profit organizations, anchor institutions, and one large business. Constructivist and critical perspectives guided the work. We used a team-based, thematic analysis approach; the team included residents and a small local business owner. Participants described pride in the neighborhood and emphasized small businesses’ contribution to long-term community well-being by investing social, cultural, human, and financial capital. Business owners saw their work as a way of giving back and did so in ways reflecting their deep understanding of community needs, aspirations, and identity. Public health efforts should engage pro-social small businesses embedded in marginalized communities, thereby supporting and amplifying businesses’ existing contributions to advancing equitable community health.
{"title":"The role of small, locally-owned businesses in advancing community health and health equity: a qualitative exploration in a historically Black neighborhood in the USA","authors":"Shoba Ramanadhan, Sabrina Werts, Collin Knight, Sara Kelly, Justin Morgan, Lauren Taylor, Sara Singer, Alan Geller, Emma Louise Aveling","doi":"10.1080/09581596.2023.2256945","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2023.2256945","url":null,"abstract":"Multi-sector efforts to address the structural drivers of health inequities faced by racial and ethnic minority communities in the USA often ignore the potential of action by for-profit businesses, perhaps due to skepticism about the role of business in such efforts. However, given the need to harness diverse forms of capital to address structural harms, and recent calls to identify oft-ignored systemic pathways to health, we examined the role of business – specifically small, locally-owned businesses – in promoting community health and well-being. This study explored the role of small, locally owned businesses in community health, and local understandings of the value of such action, in the context of Roxbury, Massachusetts, a historically Black community with a substantial Latinx population. We conducted 20 semi-structured interviews between June and November 2021 with small business owners and staff, as well as leaders and staff from local non-profit organizations, anchor institutions, and one large business. Constructivist and critical perspectives guided the work. We used a team-based, thematic analysis approach; the team included residents and a small local business owner. Participants described pride in the neighborhood and emphasized small businesses’ contribution to long-term community well-being by investing social, cultural, human, and financial capital. Business owners saw their work as a way of giving back and did so in ways reflecting their deep understanding of community needs, aspirations, and identity. Public health efforts should engage pro-social small businesses embedded in marginalized communities, thereby supporting and amplifying businesses’ existing contributions to advancing equitable community health.","PeriodicalId":51469,"journal":{"name":"Critical Public Health","volume":"190 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135203392","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-30DOI: 10.1080/09581596.2023.2250908
Violeta Contreras, Sheilla R. Madera, M. Padilla
{"title":"Silenced stories of illicit drug use in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico: experiences of healthcare providers, policymakers, and patients","authors":"Violeta Contreras, Sheilla R. Madera, M. Padilla","doi":"10.1080/09581596.2023.2250908","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2023.2250908","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51469,"journal":{"name":"Critical Public Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43952860","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-25DOI: 10.1080/09581596.2023.2250539
Saidou Sabi Boun, G. Moullec, T. Druetz
{"title":"‘We were called guardian angels; Was that sincere? I do not think so’: retention of certified nurse assistants during the COVID-19 crisis in long-term care facilities in Montreal, Quebec, Canada","authors":"Saidou Sabi Boun, G. Moullec, T. Druetz","doi":"10.1080/09581596.2023.2250539","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2023.2250539","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51469,"journal":{"name":"Critical Public Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47115481","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-17DOI: 10.1080/09581596.2023.2247143
H. Lynch, C. King
{"title":"Engaging with communities and precarity theory to bring new perspectives to public mental health","authors":"H. Lynch, C. King","doi":"10.1080/09581596.2023.2247143","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2023.2247143","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51469,"journal":{"name":"Critical Public Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-08-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43195517","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-17DOI: 10.1080/09581596.2023.2245964
Leonard W. Heyerdahl, Frédéric Le Marcis, Totran Nguyen, Arsenii Alenichev, Bienvenu Salim Camara, Koen Peeters Grietens
{"title":"Parallel vaccine discourses in Guinea: ‘grounding’ social listening for a non-hegemonic global health","authors":"Leonard W. Heyerdahl, Frédéric Le Marcis, Totran Nguyen, Arsenii Alenichev, Bienvenu Salim Camara, Koen Peeters Grietens","doi":"10.1080/09581596.2023.2245964","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2023.2245964","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51469,"journal":{"name":"Critical Public Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-08-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42755804","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-10DOI: 10.1080/09581596.2023.2240480
Tarun Kattumana, Leonard W. Heyerdahl, Totran Nguyen, Stef Dielen, Koen Peeters Grietens, A. Vandamme, T. Giles-Vernick, H. Larson, N. Vandaele, C. Vandermeulen, C. Gryseels, C. Van Riet
{"title":"More than one crisis: COVID-19 response actors navigating multi-dimensional crises in Flanders, Belgium","authors":"Tarun Kattumana, Leonard W. Heyerdahl, Totran Nguyen, Stef Dielen, Koen Peeters Grietens, A. Vandamme, T. Giles-Vernick, H. Larson, N. Vandaele, C. Vandermeulen, C. Gryseels, C. Van Riet","doi":"10.1080/09581596.2023.2240480","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2023.2240480","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":51469,"journal":{"name":"Critical Public Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49614918","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-07-28DOI: 10.1080/09581596.2023.2220134
B. Hawkins, E. Brooks, Rob Ralston, K. Lauber, Nancy Karreman, Sarah Steele
Freedom of information (FOI) laws are designed to increase transparency and political accountability. Where designed and implemented effectively, they can serve to catalyse public interest and democratic participation in politics, as well as exposing instances of corruption in, and influence over, the policy process (Fowler et al., 2013). A number of recent studies in the area of public health have drawn on data accessed through FOI requests (see for example: Lauber et al., 2021; Maani Hessari et al., 2019; Mitchell & McCambridge, 2023; Ralston, 2021; Robertson & Steele, 2023) including those published in the current journal (Glover et al., 2023; Sacks et al., 2018). Yet FOI laws remain underutilised as a research tool. This is due in part to the increasingly stringent application of disclosure exemptions within these laws. Below, we highlight examples of some of the difficulties encountered by health-policy researchers in the United Kingdom (UK) seeking to use FOI requests to access information held by public bodies, and the issues these raise for both scholarship and democratic oversight. While focused on the UK, these experiences are likely more widespread and of relevance to health and public policy researchers facing similar barriers in other contexts.
信息自由法旨在提高透明度和政治问责制。如果设计和实施有效，它们可以促进公众利益和政治民主参与，以及揭露政策过程中的腐败和影响(Fowler et al.， 2013)。最近在公共卫生领域的一些研究利用了通过信息自由请求获得的数据(例如:Lauber等人，2021年;Maani Hessari等人，2019;Mitchell & McCambridge, 2023;拉斯顿,2021;Robertson & Steele, 2023)，包括发表在当前期刊上的研究(Glover et al.， 2023;Sacks等人，2018)。然而，信息自由法作为一种研究工具仍未得到充分利用。这在一定程度上是由于这些法律对披露豁免的适用越来越严格。下面，我们将重点介绍联合王国卫生政策研究人员在寻求利用《信息自由法》请求获取公共机构持有的信息时遇到的一些困难，以及这些困难给学术研究和民主监督带来的问题。虽然这些经验主要集中在英国，但它们可能更为广泛，对在其他情况下面临类似障碍的卫生和公共政策研究人员也具有相关性。
{"title":"The law of diminishing returns? The challenge of using freedom of information legislation for health policy research","authors":"B. Hawkins, E. Brooks, Rob Ralston, K. Lauber, Nancy Karreman, Sarah Steele","doi":"10.1080/09581596.2023.2220134","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2023.2220134","url":null,"abstract":"Freedom of information (FOI) laws are designed to increase transparency and political accountability. Where designed and implemented effectively, they can serve to catalyse public interest and democratic participation in politics, as well as exposing instances of corruption in, and influence over, the policy process (Fowler et al., 2013). A number of recent studies in the area of public health have drawn on data accessed through FOI requests (see for example: Lauber et al., 2021; Maani Hessari et al., 2019; Mitchell & McCambridge, 2023; Ralston, 2021; Robertson & Steele, 2023) including those published in the current journal (Glover et al., 2023; Sacks et al., 2018). Yet FOI laws remain underutilised as a research tool. This is due in part to the increasingly stringent application of disclosure exemptions within these laws. Below, we highlight examples of some of the difficulties encountered by health-policy researchers in the United Kingdom (UK) seeking to use FOI requests to access information held by public bodies, and the issues these raise for both scholarship and democratic oversight. While focused on the UK, these experiences are likely more widespread and of relevance to health and public policy researchers facing similar barriers in other contexts.","PeriodicalId":51469,"journal":{"name":"Critical Public Health","volume":"33 1","pages":"383 - 386"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2023-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"59573173","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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