Collaborative Ecological Community Interventions for People with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

SUMMARY A key value of community psychology research is the collaborative relationship between researchers and the actual groups under study. This article provides an example of a long term, multidimensional, collaborative, and ecologically-oriented research and action approach. This collaboration involved researchers and students at an urban university and a self-help organization of patients diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. Epidemiological research and needs assessments laid the foundation for advocacy and program development efforts. These efforts in turn gave rise to further, more focused research and evaluation. The social construction of knowledge and the initiation of social change from an ecological perspective best involves interdisciplinary and community collaboration.