The "Our Voice" Method: Participatory Action Citizen Science Research to Advance Behavioral Health and Health Equity Outcomes.

Citizen science research that more fully engages the community can systematically involve people from under-resourced groups to create practical health-enhancing improvements across physical, social and food environments. Exemplary health equity-focused outcomes include key health behaviors (e.g., healthy eating or physical activity) and community-level changes (e.g., public transit to food shops) that are central to health promotion while being demonstrably impacted by local environmental contexts. Yet, few examples of this approach are readily available for application within complex, community-based settings. In this paper, we present the Our Voice (OV) four-step method to demonstrate an integrated participatory citizen science approach and its usability for action-focused researchers and community health practitioners. In addition, we present a summary of the major research, processes, and community outcomes, with examples drawn from nutrition and healthy food access areas, among others. Finally, we explore the hallmark features of the OV method that effectively engage citizen scientists, empowering action and fostering solution-building across social and environmental structures impacting community health. Expanding research that marries participatory research philosophies with innovative citizen science methods, supported by systematic data collection, visualization, and delivery technologies, in turn provides a powerful toolkit for tackling local to global health equity challenges.

Our Voice NOLA: Leveraging a Community Engaged Citizen Science Method to Contextualize the New Orleans Food Environment.

OBJECTIVE: We employed the Our Voice citizen scientist method using a mobile application (app) to identify and contextualize neighborhood-level features influencing food access and wellbeing in New Orleans, Louisiana. DESIGN: A three-phase, multi-method study comprised of: (1) a researcher-assisted tag-a-long neighborhood walk (referred to as a 'journey') with the Discovery Tool (DT) app to document neighborhood-level features via geo-coded photos and audio-recorded narratives; (2) a post-journey interview to enable citizen scientists to share their lived experiences; and (3) a community meeting with citizen scientists and local stakeholders. SETTING: Various neighborhoods in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. PARTICIPANTS: Citizen Scientists (i.e., residents) aged 18 years and older. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Features that influence food access and health behaviors. ANALYSIS: Descriptive statistics and a thematic content analysis were conducted to assess survey and app data. RESULTS: Citizen scientists (N = 14) captured 178 photos and 184 audio narratives. Eight major themes were identified: safety; walkability; aesthetics; amenities; food; health services; neighborhood changes; and infrastructure/city planning. The post-journey interview provided insights around the abovementioned themes. The community meeting demonstrated the willingness of citizen scientists and stakeholders to convene and discuss issues and relevant solutions. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Findings demonstrate the ability of technology and citizen science to help better understand the complexities of New Orleans' past, present and distinct culture-and implications for food access and wellbeing in the context of trauma in an urban ecosystem.