Brave global spaces: Researching digital health and human rights through transnational participatory action research

Abstract

In this paper we reflect on our experience with applying Transnational Participatory Action Research (TPAR) to a multi-country study of digital health and human rights of young adults living with and affected by HIV in five low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and identify some lessons learned for future projects. First, we propose a definition of TPAR based on our experience and our analysis of power in the project. We present an overview of the research design and implementation, which melded diverse working cultures and research methods. Next, we describe how we adapted outputs, working methods and terminology to meet the diverse and specific needs of civil society organizations, community-led networks and academics working in diverse national and transnational spaces. This required us to understand and adapt to the different temporalities at play. The creation of brave spaces and the development of an intersectional lens were key to addressing tensions that naturally emerged in our collaboration. Finally, we summarize lessons learns and challenges for the next stage of the project.

Keywords

• Participatory action research
• Digital health
• HIV
• Human rights
• Research methods
• Boundary objects