Participation – PAR should maximize participation at all stages.

Locally-Situated – PAR needs to address “local” priorities of participants and stakeholders so as to facilitate meaningful participation and impact.

Mutual Involvement and Collaboration – Knowledge of all participants should be valued throughout the research process. Participants are co-creators and co-owners of the research project.

Empowerment – Knowledge gained and actions taken should foster feelings of agency for all participants.

Shared Understanding and Critical Conscious-Raising – Implicit knowledge and experiences of participants should become community knowledge that can be broadly applied and actioned; PAR encourages reflection on power structures and how these affect daily life, and ways of knowing.

Meaningful Change – PAR should have both local and broader impact for the overall health and well-being of participants.

Personal Growth – PAR achieves personal growth through critical reflection and appreciation for knowledge gained throughout the research process.

(Baum et al., 2006; ICPHR, 2013; Fine et al., 2021; Savin-Baden & Wimpenny, 2007; Vaughn & Jacquez, 2020).

PAR has become more prominent in the past several decades and is well-suited for health research and producing knowledge and action related to addressing social determinants of health and associated health inequities (Baum et al., 2006; ICPHR, 2013).

PAR emphasizes the engagement of communities to address local priorities and incorporate local perspectives (ICPHR, 2013; Vaughn & Jacquez, 2020). A community need not refer to geography, but rather any group of people with a common characteristic or common interest.

PAR is most appropriate in situations where communities have identified a need for change and where that change is/will be supported by local leadership (Duijs et al., 2019; ICPHR, 2013).

Additional considerations include the political environment where research is to be conducted – where democratic environments that welcome and encourage citizen participation in decision making are ideal for PAR (Duijs et al., 2019; ICPHR, 2013); and if the community has sufficient capacity to undertake research, including a greater likelihood of active and meaningful participation (ICPHR, 2013).