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Using participatory research methods to facilitate wide stakeholder involvement: Experiences from a community public health workshop

Purpose: To use participatory research strategies to facilitate multiple stakeholder involvement in a community-wide public health workshop; 
 - To use workshop outcomes to inform the design and execution of a subsequent public health research project in a deprived English Local Authority area. 
 
Background: There is widespread acceptance of the need for effective local community engagement to achieve public health goals. In this paper, we describe how, prior to undertaking a commissioned public health project, we drew on principles of Appreciative Inquiry (a participative approach that values those involved as experts in their own lives and therefore as key actors in health improvement solutions) to work with both a wide variety of professionals and community members to inform our research approach and design. 
 
Methods: A half day community wide workshop event was held to explore national and local challenges in responding to different public health needs from the perspective of both key professional stakeholders and local community groups. The event was run as a knowledge cafe and utilised principles of action inquiry. Activities undertaken by delegates included reflective group discussion, photo-elicitation and interactive question and answer sessions. . 
 
Conclusions: Broad stakeholder involvement in the workshop events worked to build relationships between different groups, as well as enhancing their capacity to represent their own interests in wider arenas. Delegate feedback was overwhelmingly positive and outcomes from the workshop were used to inform the focus for qualitative inquiry in subsequent phases of the research.