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. 2021 Nov 29;9(Suppl 2):S195–S208. doi: 10.9745/GHSP-D-21-00332

TABLE.

Design Compared to 3 Approaches in Global Health

Participatory Research QI Sociobehavioral Research Design
Related terms and approaches
  • CBPR

  • Participatory action research

  • Youth participatory action research

  • Lean

  • QI

  • Continuous QI

  • Performance improvement

  • TQM

  • PDSA

  • Six Sigma

  • Qualitative research

  • Social-behavioral research

  • Formative research

  • Cultural anthropology

  • HCD

  • Design thinking

  • User-centered design

Framing Partner with communities to define the problems that matter to them Understand problems in context of existing systems and subsystems Use qualitative research methods, sometimes ethnographic approaches; formally approach sampling, recruitment, data collection, analysis Understand problems in context; use methods from qualitative research, with flexibility to adapt approaches
Intention Generate research for future action; develop localized ownership and solutions Improve existing systems using a continuous approach to testing and measurement Provide inputs to program design or general knowledge Fundamentally innovate, through creative processes and prototyping; sometimes improve existing systems
Collaboration Partner with community members, establish long-term relationships Identify teams within an existing organization or system Create qualitative research teams, who sometimes immerse in a group or culture Users may be partners, participants, or subjects in design; engagements are days or weeks, not months or years
Outputs Research; community ownership of research; community capacity building Measurably improved processes within existing systems Peer-reviewed research; ethnographic accounts; program recommendations Innovation in form of service, product, strategy
Citations and further reading Chen et al.32
Kia-Keating et al.33
Kachirskaia et al.34
Ahn et al.35
Tolley36
Design for Health, 2019 Complementary Approaches37
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Abbreviations: CBPR, community-based participatory research; HCD, human-centered design; PDSA, plan-do-study-act; QI, quality improvement; TQM, total quality management.