Introducing the Arctic Institute of Community-Based Research
19-Oct-2011
On October 25th, 2011, Arctic Health research Network-Yukon (AHRN-YT) will become Arctic Institute of Community-Based Research (AICBR).
AHRN-YT was founded in 2007 by Jody Butler Walker and Norma Kassi. Since then, we have hosted training schools (Spring School 2007 and Fall School 2008’) and workshops, helped to produce materials such as the DIY Diabetes Prevention Activities – A Manual for Everyone, and most recently worked with CYFN’s Aboriginal Health Transition Fund on an injury prevention project. (Yukon First Nations Community-Based Injury Prevention Summary). Over the years our organization has grown to meet the needs throughout the Yukon and this name change is to better reflect that growth.
What has become clearer while doing this work is that community health is affected by circumstances that go beyond health specifically, to include social, economic, education, housing and employment factors, among others. For this reason, we have changed our name to the Arctic Institute of Community-Based Research. We believe that this will more accurately reflect the reality of community-based research as one where funds and partners from multiple sources can contribute to solutions to complex issues that go beyond health specifically.
Community-Based Research can be identified by the following 8 principles:
- Recognizes community as a unit of identity;
- Builds on strength and resources within the community;
- Facilitates collaborative partnerships in all phases of the research;
- Integrates knowledge and action for mutual benefit of all partners…and includes integrating that knowledge with community and social change efforts that address the concerns of the communities involved;
- Promotes a co-learning and empowering process that attends to social inequalities….[It is a] process that facilitates the reciprocal transfer of knowledge, skills, capacity and power;
- Involves a cyclical and iterative process....that includes partnership development and maintenance, community assessment, problem definition, development of research methodology, data collection and analysis, interpretation of data, determination of action and policy implications, dissemination of results, action taking (as appropriate), specification of learning, and establishment of mechanisms for sustainability;
- Addresses health from both positive and ecological perspectives.…that emphasizes physical, mental, and social well-being …and that encompasses biomedical, social, economic, cultural, historical, and political factors as determinants of health and disease; disseminates findings and knowledge gained to all partners. …The ongoing feedback of data and use of results to inform action are integral to this approach. (Israel et al., 1998, pp. 178-180)
In addition to the principles of community-based research, our approach also includes: ethics, capacity building and knowledge translation.
AICBR is currently working on multiple projects that include bringing people from all jurisdictions to work together towards a common goal of Northern health and well-being. Our initial priorities have changed to reflect recent needs identified by project partners. They are: Food Security, Climate Change and Health, Youth Engagement, Injury Prevention, Healthy Lifestyles and H. pylori.
To celebrate this transition we will be hosting an open house on October 25th from 4:30-5:30pm at our office located upstairs in the Horwood’s mall. (Suite 209-100 Main Street). Please contact our office at (867) 668-3393 or visit us online at http://www.aicbr.ca/ for further information.