Date of Award

January 2026

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Public Health (MPH)

Department

School of Public Health

First Advisor

Laura Bothwell

Abstract

Participatory Research (PR) involves individuals affected by a research problem as active collaborators rather than passive subjects. While this approach emphasizes ethical and contextually relevant practices, existing literature suggests that ethics training for community researchers in low-income countries is inconsistently implemented and often not culturally adapted. This study examines how ethics training is currently provided to community researchers engaged in PR in low-income countries.A secondary analysis was conducted using manuscripts identified through a prior systematic review of PR studies in low-income settings. Corresponding authors of included studies were invited to complete an online Qualtrics survey regarding ethics training, participatory research training, and dissemination of findings to communities. A total of 74 authors responded. Findings revealed substantial variability in ethics training practices, including differences in training content, delivery methods, and cultural adaptation. Approximately one quarter (25%) reported either no ethics training or only brief discussions of ethics training for community researchers, while 93% of respondents reported receiving participatory research training prior to conducting their studies. This study highlights the need for more consistent and culturally appropriate ethics training frameworks to support community researchers and strengthen ethical conduct in participatory research.

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This is an Open Access Thesis.

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