The spectrum of knowledge synthesis methods: From big picture overview to targeted deep dive

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Paradigms of approaches to research

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Health and Wellness Literacy Initiatives for Immigrant Populations Delivered Through Faith-Based Entities

Background: Health literacy has been shown to be low among immigrant populations globally, leading to limited ability to locate, access and use health information. Religious entities are often the initial contact for many immigrants regarding health and social supports, there are a lack of knowledge about how initiatives to improve health literacy of the immigrant population may be offered through faith-based entities. The objective of this proposed scoping review is to identify available evidence on health literacy initiatives delivered through faith-based entities for immigrant populations. Methods/Design: Using a scoping review framework we will complete a comprehensive search of relevant keywords in major academic and grey literature databases. Eligible articles will be identified through screening by two independent reviewers according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria to include articles relevant to our research question. Selected articles will be charted into data extraction tables for analysis, synthesis and presentation of narrative description and visual graphics. Discussion: This scoping review will identify and assess existing health literacy initiatives delivered through faith-based entities to improve health literacy of immigrant communities. This review will inform which initiatives are commonly practiced, and which immigrant groups are most benefitted from and can potentially be benefitted. It will also describe how to conduct those initiatives and what resources are needed and identify the stakeholders of such initiatives those needed to be engaged with to conduct a successful and acceptable program. The challenges and facilitators of those initiatives will also be identified

Research ethics: Overcoming the exploitative dynamic through ethical research

Research ethics is a framework of principles and guidelines designed to ensure that scientific inquiry protects participants’ rights and welfare while upholding integrity. Core principles includes respect for persons, beneficence, and justice which govern all research stages. Respect for persons requires informed consent, confidentiality, and additional safeguards for individuals with diminished autonomy. Beneficence involves maximizing benefits and minimizing harm. Justice demands equitable distribution of both research burdens and benefits. Despite these safeguards, exploitative dynamics persist when power imbalances enable researchers to pursue agendas at the expense of marginalized communities. Such dynamics manifest as tokenistic participation, extractive “helicopter” research, lack of reciprocity, disregard for local context, and unaddressed harms, all of which erode trust and compromise research validity. Mitigating these issues for ensuring ethical research requires proactive strategies at both the investigator and institutional levels. Researchers should co-design studies with community partners, implement participant-centered informed consent, ensure fair recruitment, prioritize participant welfare, establish benefit-sharing agreements, and maintain transparency and accountability. Academic institutions must bolster ethics infrastructures — streamlining review processes, providing ongoing ethics training, facilitating genuine community engagement, and fostering a culture that rewards ethical conduct. By embedding these measures into research design and oversight, the research community can prevent exploitation, honour participants’ dignity, and advance knowledge in an equitable manner. Upholding rigorous ethical standards not only safeguards scientific credibility but also builds public trust and contributes to a more just and inclusive society.

Unraveling research: Understanding scientific reasoning

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Paradigms of approaches to research

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Decoding research: Philosophical pillars of research paradigms

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Open Science: Knowledge for the people, by the people, and with the people

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Color Coded Health Data: Factors related to willingness to share health information in South Asian community members in Canada

Introduction Data unavailability poses multiple challenges in many health fields, especially within ethnic subgroups in Canada, who may be hesitant to share their health data with researchers. Since health information availability is controlled by the participant, it is important to understand the willingness to share health information by an ethnic population to increase data availability within ethnocultural communities. Methods We employed a qualitative descriptive approach to better understand willingness to share health information by South Asian participants and operated through a lens that considered the cultural and sociodemographic aspect of ethnocultural communities. A total of 22 in-depth interviews were conducted between March and July 2020. Results The results of this study show that health researchers should aim to develop a mutually beneficial information-sharing partnership with communities, with an emphasis on the ethnocultural and socio-ecological aspects of health within populations. Conclusion The findings support the need for culturally sensitive and respectful engagement with the community, ethically sound research practices that make participants feel comfortable in sharing their information, and an easy sharing process to share health information feasibly

Dimensions and barriers for digital (in)equity and digital divide: a systematic integrative review

Purpose – This integrative review was conducted to provide an overview of existing research on digital (in)equity and the digital divide in developed countries. Design/methodology/approach – We searched academic and grey literature to identify relevant papers. From 8464 academic articles and 183 grey literature, after two levels of screening, 31 articles and 54 documents were selected, respectively. A thematic analysis was conducted following the steps suggested by Braun and Clarke and results were reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Findings – The results showed that most articles and papers were either from Europe or North America. Studies used a range of research methods, including quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods. The results demonstrated four major dimensions of the digital divide among various vulnerable groups, including digital literacy, affordability, equity-deserving group-sensitive content and availability or access to infrastructure. Among vulnerable groups, low-income people were reported in the majority of the studies followed by older adults, racial and ethnic minorities, newcomers/new immigrants and refugees, Indigenous groups, people with disabilities and women. Most reported barriers included lack of access to the internet, digital skills, language barriers and internet costs. Originality/value – To the best of our knowledge, there have been limited attempts to thoroughly review the literature to better understand the emerging dimensions of digital equity and the digital divide, identifying major vulnerable populations and their unique barriers and challenges. This review demonstrated that understanding intersectional characteristics (age, gender, disability, race, ethnicity, Indigenous identity and immigration status) and their interconnections is crucial for analyzing the dynamics of digital (in)equity and divide