Food Fight! Participatory Action Research for an Equitable Food System: Teen Friendly Spaces and Farmers' Markets
Research Method: Participatory Action Research
Funder: Perrin Family Foundation
Dates of Project: June 15, 2012 - June 14, 2013
Project Summary : This innovative project continues ICR's work with youth participatory action research, leadership development and promotion of social change in the area of food justice in partnership with Hartford Food System.
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Youth Rxeaction Project
Research Method: Participatory Action Research
Principle Investigator: Marlene Berg, M.U.P.
Grant: CT State Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) Best Practice - Strategic Prevention Framework grant
Dates of Study: 2011 - 2013
Project Summary: Prescription drug misuse and abuse among youth has been identified by the United States government as a major public health crisis. In this project, a team of seven West Hartford high school youth created two YouTube videos depicting common scenarios of prescription drug misuse in their town. The youth began this participatory video action research project by developing a research model. This model contained various independent variables thought to influence the dependent variable of prescription drug misuse among their peers. Through the analysis, the youth were able to develop two common scenarios to be videotaped and disseminated to their peers using YouTube.
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Good Oral Health Project
Research Method: Participatory Action Research
Principle Investigator: Jean J. Schensul, Ph.D.
Grant: National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (1 RC4 DE021324)
Dates of Study:
Project Summary: Significant oral health disparities exist among older low income and minority community dwelling adults. There is little research on these topics that would assist in improving oral health among vulnerable older adults. The project team is building a statewide geriatric oral health research strategic alliance to promote geriatric oral health projects, services and research, and will link the university, ICR and NCAAA to a network of older adult residences receiving public funding in Hartford and the surrounding areas including Meriden.
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Recipes for Life
Research Method: Intervention Research, Participatory Action Research & Evaluation
Project Director: Kim Radda, RN, MA
Grant: ICR funded
Dates of Study: 2002-2004
"Recipes for Life" explored the ways in which older adults successfully cope with the aging process. Through an arts-based intervention, older adults shared life experiences and thoughts on successful aging. A professional photographer introduced residents to the idea of photographing images and using these images to tell others about the experiences that shaped their lives, and created a professional portrait for exhibit for them. As they exchanged family food recipes, life stories, and successful aging strategies, the project gave residents an outlet for creativity and social interaction across ethnic, age and gender lines. Residents shared their work with family, friends and the general public during exhibitions in the senior housing building and the Jean J. Schensul Community Gallery at ICR.
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Link to Health and Mental Health Programs page

Youth Action Research Institute (YARI)
The Youth Action Research Institute promotes the use of youth-led action research on risk prevention, community development and social change. It's projects use action research training as a tool for personal, group and community development and change.
Link to YARI Page
Link to Education Programs page

Sexual Minority Youth Action Research Project
Project Contact: Chiedza Rodriguez, B.A.
Grant: CT State Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services
The Sexual Minority Youth Action Research Project of the Youth Action Research Institute, trains lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth of color and their allies to use research as a tool for addressing issues of concern and importance to them, their communities and schools. Teams of Community Youth Researchers conduct research on the availability of, and access to, support systems for urban, primarily minority, LGBTQ youth in two urban areas of Connecticut.
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Youth Action Research for Prevention (YARP)
Principal Investigator: Marlene Berg, M.U.P.
Grant: CT Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP)
Dates of Study: 2002-2005
Partners: Survey Center and Data Management, Institute for Community Health Promotion, Brown University

This three-year research and demonstration project documents ICR's youth action research model and assesses its efficacy in preventing substance and sex risk behavior among urban youth (ages 14-16) of diverse ethnic backgrounds. The model uses a participatory action research curriculum that gives teens the skills to explore, think critically and address risk-related issues in the their environment. In the process, youth - with the support of adult facilitation - co-construct their own prevention norms and practices. Youth Action Research for Prevention (YARP) is part of ICR's Youth Action Research Institute. An evaluation team headed by Gary Burkholder, Ph.D., Director, Survey Center and Data Management, Brown University and ICR have designed and are implementing the process and outcome assessment of the model using a quasi-experimental design and a matched comparison group from Springfield, MA. A program manual for replication and adaptation of the model will be developed, which details the intervention process and research findings.
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Diffusing Youth-Based Participatory Action Research for Prevention Model
Project Staff: Victor Pacheco, B.F.A., Prevention Research Educator
Grant: Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS)
Dates of Project: Ongoing
A project of the Institute for Community Research's Youth Action Research Institute (YARI), the Diffusing Youth-Based Participatory Action Research for Prevention project is piloting and creating an abbreviated curriculum and implementation manual designed for youth-serving organizations. This project explores how ICR's theory-driven substance abuse prevention model, which uses a participatory action research (PAR) training process as the basis for youth risk-prevention and education through skill-building, empowerment and problem-solving, can be shortened and adapted for use by youth workers in different settings and with different urban populations.
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Resident Engagement Through Action Research for Community and Family Strengthening
Project Director: Marlene Berg, M.U.P.
Grant: Annie E. Casey Foundation
Dates of Project: 2001-2006
This project will develop, implement, evaluate and disseminate nationally a Participatory Action Research training model in which community residents in Hartford neighborhoods use research methods and advocacy to strengthen families and neighborhoods as family-supportive environments. The model, supported by Making Connections, a fifteen-year foundation initiative in 22 cities across the United States, is intended for national dissemination and use.
Link to Resident Engagement Page