Participatory design (PD) is a research approach to the development of technological solutions to real-world problems, an approach that shares manyconcerns and some of its roots with action research. In this article, the authors discuss their experience in conducting a PD research project intended to develop a technological and a related organizational intervention to support the treatment of foot ulcers for people with diabetes at home. They provide a historical overviewof the PD approach and a description of how they used it in their researchstudy. They describe their experience in conducting the research, including the participants' responses, the outcomes of the research, and the challenges confronted in bridging the practical and disciplinary issues that arose. In the conclusion, they propose that PD holds potential as a research approach that might effectively merge computer technology and health-related interventional research.
Attesjö,A. , Hedström, S. Å., & Solberg, C. O. (1996). Diabetesfoten. Stockholm, Sweden: Pharmacia & Upjohn, Sverige AB .
2.
Bardram, J. E. , & Larsen, S. B. (2004, April). Hoppers Home and Hoppers Hospital: Usability laboratories for home care . In Proceedings ofthe CHI2004 workshop on HCI and homecare: Connecting families and clinicians. Retrieved April 26, 2006, from http://www.scr.siemens.com/CHI2004_Workshop/papers.html
3.
Bødker, S. , Grønbæk, K. , & Kyng, M. (1993). Cooperative design: Techniques and experiences from the Scandinavian scene. In D. Schuler & A. Mamioka (Eds.), Participatory design (pp. 157-175). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum .
4.
Cave, A. J. , & Ramsden, V. R. (2002). Hypothesis: The research page—Participatory action research . Canadian Family Physician, 48, 1671-1672 .
5.
Clemensen, J. , Larsen, S. B. , & Bardram, J. E. (2004). Developing pervasive e-health for moving experts from hospital to home . IADIS International Journal on WWW/Internet, 2, 57-68 .
6.
Clemensen, J. , Larsen, S. , & Ejskjær, N. (2005). Telemedical treatment at home of diabetic foot ulcers . Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 11(S2), 14-16 .
7.
Ehn, P. , & Kyng, M. (1987). Collective resource approach to systems design. In G. Bjerknes , P. Ehn , & M. Kyng (Eds.), Computers and democracy: A Scandinavian challenge (pp. 17-57). Aldershot, UK: Avebury, Gower .
8.
Emery, F. (1978). The emergence of a new paradigm of work. Canberra: Centre for Continuing Education, Australian National University .
9.
Garshnek, V., & Burkle, F. M. (1998). Telecommunications and informatics contributions to the future of public health: A forecast. In Pacific Medical Technology Symposium. Retrieved May 1, 2006, from http://csdl2.computer.org/persagen/DLAbsToc.jsp?resourcePath=/dl/proceedings/&toc=comp/proceedings/pacmedtek/1998/8667/00/8667toc.xml&DOI=10.1109/PACMED.1998.769984
10.
Gottrup, F. , & Olsen, L. (1997). Sår—Baggrund, Diagnose og Behandling [Wounds: Background, diagnosis, and treatment]. Copenhagen, Denmark: Munksgaard .
11.
Greenbaum, J. (1993). A design of one's own: Towards participatory design in the United States. In D. Schuler & A. Namioka (Eds.), Participatory design: Principles and practices (pp. 27-37). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum .
12.
Greenbaum, J. , & Kyng, M. (1991). Design at work: Cooperative design of computer systems. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum .
13.
Grønbæk, K. , Kyng, M. , & Mogensen, P. (1997). Toward a cooperative experimental system development approach. In L. Mathiassen & M. Kyng (Eds.), Computers and design in context (pp. 201-238). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press .
14.
Hagey, R. S. (1997). The use and abuse of participatory action research . Chronic Diseases in Canada, 18, 1-4 .
15.
Holter, I. , & Schwartz-Barcott, D. (1993). Action research: What is it? How has it been used and how can it be used in nursing?Journal of Advanced Nursing, 18, 298-304 .
16.
Jacques, E. (1952). The changing culture of a factory. New York: Dryden .
17.
Jungk, R. , & Müllert, N. R. (1987). Future workshops: How to create desirable futures. London: Institute for Social Inventions .
18.
Kemmis, S. , & McTaggart, R. (1982). The action research planner (2nd ed.). Geelong, Victoria, Australia: Deakin University Press .
19.
Kyng, M. (1998). Users and computers: A contextual approach to design of computer artefacts . Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems, 10, 7-44 .
20.
Lewin, K. (1946). Action research and minority problems . Journal of Social Issues, 2, 34-46 .
21.
Lindsey, E. , Sheilds, L. , & Stajduhar, K. (1999). Creating effective nursing partnerships: Relating community development to participatory action research . Journal of Advanced Nursing, 29(5), 1238-1245 .
22.
Mogensen, P. H. (1994). Challenging practice: An approach to cooperativeanalysis. Doctoral dissertation DAIMI PB-465, Aarhus University, Institute for Computer Science.
23.
Mumford, E. (1987). Sociotechnical systems design: Evolving theory and practice. In G. Bjerknes , P. Ehn , & M. Kyng (Eds.), Computers and democracy: A Scandinavian challenge(pp. 59-76). Aldershot, UK: Avebury, Gower .
24.
O'Brien, R. (2001). Um exame da abordagem metodológica da pesquisa açāo [An overview of the methodological approach of action research]. In R. Richardson (Ed.), Teoria e práticada pesquisa açāo [Theory and practice of action research]. Joāo Pessoa, Brazil: Universidade Federal da Paraíba . English version retrieved December 13, 2005, from http://www.web.ca/~robrien/papers/arfinal.html
25.
Winter, R. , & Munn-Giddings, C. (2001). A handbook for action research in health and social care. London: Routledge .
26.
World Health Organization Europe & International Diabetes Federation Europe . (1990). Diabetes care and research in Europe: The St. Vincent declaration . Diabetic Medicine, 7, 360-360 .
