Participatory Health Research International Experience from Four Portuguese-Speaking Countries

Thinking about participatory health research (PHR) in Portuguese-speaking countries implies diversity and specifically cultural diversity. Four years after the chapter’s co-authors were integrated into the International Collaboration for Participatory Health Research (ICPHR) network, they decided to reflect on how PHR is emerging in Portuguese-speaking countries. Participatory research builds on co-created knowledge by doing research with people not on them, so it becomes challenging to reflect on the singularities of PHR among Portuguese-speaking projects due to cultural diversity. This chapter presents the reflexive synthesis of nine PHR projects developed in Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, and Portugal using comparative analysis. PHR coordinators were invited to co-author this chapter with the purpose of synthesizing and comparing (i) research design and validity, (ii) participation, and (iii) impact of research and dissemination. The projects were focused on topics such as “partygoer” college and university students, young people living in violent communities, people living with chronic diseases, women without access to cervical cancer screening, and primary health-care practices. These projects revealed PHR “good practices” and the potential to support social change through person-/community-centered services and greater responsiveness/inclusion in the health-care system. The barrier between scientific and lay knowledge must be overcome so that proposals can emphasize the impact of powerlessness in people’s daily lives.