Researchers Experience Multiple Embodiments in a Cross-Cultural, Intergenerational Event to Support Girls Challenging Gender-Based Violence

Many challenges exist to conducting participatory research and consultation with young people, especially with those considered vulnerable or at risk. Beyond respecting the safety and wellbeing of young research participants, researchers must be aware of barriers to youth engagement and be attuned to the many forms of youth resistance. As young people are seeking more control over their lives, traditional knowledge hierarchies between adults and youth are shifting. In July 2018, an event entitled Circles Within Circles brought together Indigenous and non-Indigenous girls and young women from South Africa, Canada, Russia, Sweden, and Kenya to learn from each other’s participatory art-making and create a network for challenging gender-based violence (GBV). This article provides insight into the often-invisible experience of the “supporting cast” in events like Circles Within Circles. The co-authors are doctoral and postdoctoral researchers who contributed to organization and acted as facilitators, notetakers, and participants. The co-authors conduct participatory analyses of journal entries they wrote throughout the event, and jointly reflect on the activities and their feelings about their roles. Reflecting, for example, on gut feelings about young participants’ use of voice and silence during adult-led activities, the co-authors discuss their reading of girls’ demonstrations of resistance. This embodied knowledge, further cultivated by attuning to shared experience, is explored in this collaborative auto-ethnography. Examining the complexities of this cross-cultural and intergenerational event, the co-authors contend that when supporting girls and young people subverting dominant narratives of GBV, researchers’ embodied reflexivity is crucial for positively contributing to girl-led change

Picturing change through PhotoVoice : participatory evaluation of a daycare intervention in Kenya

In societies throughout sub-Saharan Africa childcare is largely the responsibility of mothers and other female family members, which can limit their employment options. Yet in urban areas, factors such as wage labor, the monetized economy and cost of living increasingly compel women to seek new employment options in order to earn an income and contribute to their household. Thus, balancing work and childcare remains a dilemma for many women. This policy brief discusses the methodological process and findings of a PhotoVoice participatory evaluation conducted as part of a larger randomized study, which provided vouchers for subsidized daycare to selected mothers living in Korogocho slum in Nairobi, Kenya

Re-Conceptualizing School Continuation & Re-Entry Policy for Young Mothers Living in an Urban Slum Context in Nairobi, Kenya: A Participatory Approach

This article discusses the barriers to school continuation for pregnant girls and young mothers living in low-income and marginalized contexts in Nairobi, Kenya. In the article, I suggest adopting a girl-centered framework in the policy formulation process (Moletsane, Mitchell, & Lewin, 2015). This perspective puts girls’ voices at the center of the policy formulation process to help address the persistent gender inequality in education through problem identification and an exploration of ways to combat the challenges faced by girls. The article, which analyzes studies of government’s education policies, is supported by data from my recent fieldwork investigating young mothers’ challenges to school continuation and re-entry in Kenya, within the context of Kenya’s re-entry and continuation policy effected in 1994. I discuss the school re-entry and continuationpolicies in low-income contexts using the framework of critical feminism. I argue that there is need to integrate multi-pronged, participatory and feminist frameworks to promote systematic government educational policy reforms to shore up gender equality (King & Winthrop, 2015).  To support this argument, I develop three main claims: (a) broad conceptualization of the causes of teenage pregnancy will promote the use of multi-pronged approaches to the design of school re-entry and continuation policies; (b) formulation and implementation of any robust policies on re-entry and continuation require strong integration of the voices, perspectives and the lived experiences of pregnant teenage girls and young mothers; and (c) the use of participatory visual methodologies will give voice to pregnant girls and young mothers, and promote policy dialogue while at the same time empowering them and spurring their agency to become part of policy formulation and implementation

Integrating equity, diversity and inclusion throughout the lifecycle of AI within healthcare: a scoping review protocol

Introduction Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to improve efficiency and quality of care in healthcare settings. The lack of consideration for equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the lifecycle of AI within healthcare settings may intensify social and health inequities, potentially causing harm to under-represented populations. This article describes the protocol for a scoping review of the literature relating to integration of EDI in the AI interventions within healthcare setting. The objective of the review is to evaluate what has been done on integrating EDI concepts, principles and practices in the lifecycles of AI interventions within healthcare settings. It also aims to explore which EDI concepts, principles and practices have been integrated into the design, development and implementation of AI in healthcare settings.Method and analysis The scoping review will be guided by the six-step methodological framework developed by Arksey and O’Malley supplemented by Levac et al, and Joanna Briggs Institute methodological framework for scoping reviews. Relevant literature will be identified by searching seven electronic databases in engineering/computer science and healthcare, and searching the reference lists and citations of studies that meet the inclusion criteria. Studies on AI in any healthcare and geographical settings, that have considered aspects of EDI, published in English and French between 2005 and present will be considered. Two reviewers will independently screen titles, abstracts and full-text articles according to inclusion criteria. We will conduct a thematic analysis and use a narrative description to describe the work. Any disagreements will be resolved through discussion with the third reviewer. Extracted data will be summarised and analysed to address aims of the scoping review. Reporting will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews. The study began in April 2022 and is expected to end in September 2023. The database initial searches resulted in 5,745 records when piloted in April 2022.Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval is not required. The study will map the available literature on EDI concepts, principles and practices in AI interventions within healthcare settings, highlight the significance of this context, and offer insights into the best practices for incorporating EDI into AI-based solutions in healthcare settings. The results will be disseminated through open-access peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, social media and 2-day workshops with relevant stakeholders

Actions to prevent pregnant girls from school dropout : lessons learnt from Covid-19 in Uganda

A recent study conducted in south-western Uganda identifies five main barriers to school-age mothers returning to school following pregnancy: negative self-perception, childcare burdens, community and family tensions, a tense school environment and ineffective policies. This policy note offers advice to policy makers at all levels and in all sectors on what they should do to tackle these barriers