# Situation: A public health nurse in a rice-farming municipality reviews a published prospective cohort study of farmers before planning leptospirosis prevention with the local farmers' association. The nurse plans to work with the association using participatory action research (PAR). Which feature defines this approach?

> source: MyMerci (mymerci.kr)  
> url: https://mymerci.kr/pages/nclex_q.php?qn_id=627206  
> language: ko  
> subject: Nursing Practice I — Community Health Nursing

## 문제

Situation: A public health nurse in a rice-farming municipality reviews a published prospective cohort study of farmers before planning leptospirosis prevention with the local farmers' association.

The nurse plans to work with the association using participatory action research (PAR). Which feature defines this approach?

## 보기

1. The nurse collects the data and the farmers answer as subjects
2. A health agency designs the study and reports results to the farmers
3. Farmers act as co-researchers and use the results to fix problems **✔ 정답**
4. Data come only from existing records such as disease registries

**정답: 3**

## 해설

In participatory action research, community members are active co-researchers, not passive subjects: they collect and analyze data about their own situation, and the findings are used directly for action. It is the research component of Community Organizing Participatory Action Research (COPAR) and builds the community's ownership and self-reliance.

## 심화 해설

In participatory action research (PAR), the defining feature is that community members are not merely subjects who provide data to an outside researcher. Instead, they become active partners in the entire research process. This means farmers in the rice-farming municipality would help shape the research questions, participate in data collection and analysis, and then use the findings to implement changes that address the problems they themselves have identified. The correct answer is therefore option 3: Farmers act as co-researchers and use the results to fix problems.

Core mechanism of PAR

PAR is built on the principle of shared power and mutual learning. In traditional research, a professional or academic team designs the study, collects data from participants, analyzes it, and then reports results back to the community. PAR deliberately disrupts this dynamic. The research process becomes a collaborative cycle in which community members and outside facilitators work side by side. This is why option 2, where a health agency designs the study and reports results to the farmers, describes a conventional top-down model rather than PAR.

The requirement of sharing power disrupts traditional research dynamics and can be challenging in many settings. In a rice-farming community, this means the public health nurse does not arrive with a fully formed leptospirosis prevention plan. Instead, the nurse facilitates a process in which farmers help define what they already know about leptospirosis risk, what data they want to collect about their own work practices and exposure, and what solutions are feasible given their local resources and constraints.

Why co-researcher status matters

The term co-researcher is central. PAR creates spaces for marginalized or affected individuals and communities to guide relevant social change. Farmers who work in flooded rice paddies have direct, embodied knowledge of when and how they are exposed to Leptospira-contaminated water. In a PAR framework, that knowledge is not treated as anecdotal background information; it is treated as essential expertise that shapes the research itself. All members of the PAR team often experience personal transformation while working toward social transformation. The farmers gain skills in data collection and analysis, while the nurse gains a deeper understanding of local risk practices that might not appear in disease registries.

This also explains why option 4 is incorrect. PAR does not rely only on existing records such as disease registries. While existing data may inform the initial discussion, PAR typically involves generating new data through methods the community helps choose, such as participatory mapping of flooded fields, photo-voice documentation of work practices, or community-led surveys. The data source is not restricted to what professionals have already recorded.

Distinguishing PAR from conventional research

| Feature | Conventional research | Participatory action research |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Role of community members | Passive subjects who answer questions | Co-researchers who help design, collect, and analyze |
| Power and decision-making | Held by the research team or agency | Shared between community and facilitators |
| Purpose of findings | Reported to stakeholders or published | Used directly by the community for action and problem-solving |
| Data sources | Researcher-selected instruments, existing records | Community-relevant methods, including local knowledge |

Option 1 describes the nurse collecting data while farmers answer as subjects. This is the classic extractive model that PAR explicitly rejects. In PAR, the nurse may still collect data, but the farmers are not positioned as passive respondents; they are involved in deciding what questions matter and how the answers should be interpreted and applied.

Link to COPAR and community ownership

In the Philippine nursing context, PAR is the research component of Community Organizing Participatory Action Research (COPAR). COPAR is a social development approach that aims to transform apathetic, dependent communities into self-reliant, participating communities. The research component is not an academic exercise; it is a tool for conscientization, helping community members critically examine their own situation and take collective action. The findings are used directly for action, building the community's ownership and self-reliance.

For leptospirosis prevention in a rice-farming municipality, this means the farmers' association would not simply receive a lecture or a brochure from the nurse. Instead, the association members would work with the nurse to investigate their own exposure patterns, identify high-risk fields or seasons, and then decide on locally acceptable interventions such as wearing boots, draining fields before entry, or organizing peer education. Because the farmers helped generate the evidence, they are more likely to trust it and act on it.

Key point! The defining feature of PAR is not the topic, the setting, or the data source. It is the shift in who holds power over the research process. When community members become co-researchers who use results to solve their own problems, that is PAR. Watch out! Do not confuse PAR with community-based research where the community is merely the study site or the subject population. The word "participatory" specifically signals shared control over the research and its outcomes.

## 임상 시나리오

PAR in Leptospirosis PreventionEngaging farmers as co-researchers for community action
In participatory action research, farmers are not passive subjects. They help shape research questions, collect and analyze data, and use findings to fix problems they identify.

The public health nurse acts as a facilitator, not a top-down planner. Shared power builds community ownership and supports self-reliance in leptospirosis prevention.

CautionAvoid arriving with a fully formed prevention plan. If the nurse or health agency controls the study and only reports results, the approach becomes conventional research rather than PAR.

## 핵심 개념

- **Participatory Action Research** — A collaborative research approach in which community members act as co-researchers to collect, analyze, and use data for action.
- **COPAR** — Community Organizing Participatory Action Research, a framework that builds community ownership and self-reliance through active participation.
- **Co-researcher** — A community member who shares power in shaping research questions, data collection, analysis, and use of findings.
- **Community Ownership** — The community's sense of control and responsibility over a program or research process, strengthened by active involvement.
- **Leptospirosis** — A bacterial infection often linked to contaminated water, relevant to rice-farming communities where farmers may be exposed.

## 같은 주제 문제

- [Situation: The public health nurse makes a home visit to a family. The father, 58, a drive…](https://mymerci.kr/pages/nclex_q.php?qn_id=627036)
- [Situation: A public health nurse is assigned to organize and assess a coastal barangay in …](https://mymerci.kr/pages/nclex_q.php?qn_id=627078)
- [Situation: The nurse at a Rural Health Unit (RHU) joins a team evaluating a point-of-care …](https://mymerci.kr/pages/nclex_q.php?qn_id=627103)
- [Situation: The nurse at a Rural Health Unit (RHU) joins a team evaluating a point-of-care …](https://mymerci.kr/pages/nclex_q.php?qn_id=627104)
- [Situation: The nurse at a Rural Health Unit (RHU) joins a team evaluating a point-of-care …](https://mymerci.kr/pages/nclex_q.php?qn_id=627105)
- [Situation: The nurse at a Rural Health Unit (RHU) joins a team evaluating a point-of-care …](https://mymerci.kr/pages/nclex_q.php?qn_id=627106)
- [Situation: A public health nurse at the municipal health office joins a research team that…](https://mymerci.kr/pages/nclex_q.php?qn_id=627107)
- [Situation: A public health nurse at the municipal health office joins a research team that…](https://mymerci.kr/pages/nclex_q.php?qn_id=627108)

---

More free questions: [기출문제](https://mymerci.kr/)

_학습 참고용입니다. 실제 임상은 최신 지침과 소속 기관 프로토콜을 따르세요._