Citizen science in the community: Gaining insight in community and participant health in four deprived neighbourhoods in the Netherlands
Sanneke J.M. Grootjans, Mandy Stijnen, Mariëlle Kroese, Dirk Ruwaard, Ir M.W.J. Jansen
Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine if citizen science contributes to gaining insight into community health and to the health of the citizen scientists themselves. Therefore, thirteen citizens in four deprived neighbourhoods were trained as citizen scientists to conduct research in their own communities. Results showed that the citizen scientists identified forty (health related) themes in their communities. The citizen scientists reported an increase in their overall self-perceived health which, however, was not significantly demonstrated in the prequestionnaire and postquestionnaire.
Topics & Concepts
Citizen scienceCommunity participationCommunity healthPublic relationsParticipant observationPolitical sciencePublic healthSociologyHealth scienceSocial scienceSocioeconomicsMedical educationMedicineNursingBotanyBiologySpecies Distribution and Climate ChangeZoonotic diseases and public healthPublic Health Policies and Education