• Home / Articulos publicados / Our Voice in a rural community: empowering Colombian adolescents to advocate for school community well-being through citizen science
  • Our Voice in a rural community: empowering Colombian adolescents to advocate for school community well-being through citizen science

    • Our Voice in a rural community: empowering Colombian adolescents to advocate for school community well-being through citizen science
      Our Voice in a rural community: empowering Colombian adolescents to advocate for school community well-being through citizen science
13/01/2023

[Artículo]

La Dra. Olga Lucía Sarmiento nos comparte un nuevo artículo donde participó llamado "Our Voice in a rural community: empowering Colombian adolescents to advocate for school community well-being through citizen science".

 

Abstract

Background

Santa Ana is home to an Afro-descendant rural population of the island of Barú in Cartagena, Colombia. While a popular area for tourism, Santa Ana’s population is affected by multidimensional poverty, precarious work conditions, homelessness, broken streets and sewer systems, limited quality education, and a lack of recreation and sport spaces. While Santa Ana’s Community Action Board aims to unify efforts and resources to solve these problems, the state’s capacity to meet the requirements of the Board is limited.

Methods

We evaluated the relationship between healthy lifestyles and characteristics of Santa Ana’s school using the Our Voice Citizen Science Research Method. This systemic approach combines information and communication technologies with group facilitation to empower adolescents to: 1) collect and discuss data about factors in their local environments that facilitate or hinder well-being within their school community; 2) identify relevant local stakeholders who could help to address the issues identified; and 3) advocate collectively for local improvements to support increased well-being at a community level.

Results

Eleven citizen scientists ages 13 to 17 years from the science club of Institución Educativa Santa Ana were recruited and together conducted 11 walks within the school to collect data about the facilitators and barriers to student well-being. They identified barriers to well-being related to school infrastructure, furniture, bathrooms, and sense of belonging. They then advocated with school stakeholders and reached agreements on concrete actions to address identified barriers, including fostering a culture among students of caring for school property and presenting their findings to the community action board. This methodology allowed the community to realize how students can become agents of change and take collective action when motivated by solution-oriented methodologies such as Our Voice. Project ripple effects, including greater empowerment and participation in collective actions by students, also were observed.

Conclusions

This study underscores the importance of the school’s built environment in the well-being of students in rural areas. The Our Voice method provided the opportunity to inform school-based interventions, and promoted ripple effects that expanded productive dialogue to the community level and generated systemic actions involving actors outside of the school community.

 

Lee el artículo completo aquí

Noticias Recientes

  • Historias, saberes y cuidados: así se vivió Aprendiendo juntos s

    Aprendiendo juntos sobre Parkinson fue un evento abierto al público, organizado en...

  • Encuentro internacional: retos del consumo con enfoque de género

    El Centro de Prácticas de nuestra Facultad fue escenario de un encuentro académico que...

  • Michelle Ahrens: De Bogotá a Mannheim, una historia de mentoría
  • Tecnología y ética médica: la visión del Dr. Roberto Rueda en co

    El VII Congreso Nacional e Internacional de Mecanismos de Resolución de...

  • Uniandes impulsa la transformación de la salud en Latam HealthTe

    El Latam HealthTech Forum 2025, uno de los eventos más relevantes en...

  • Médicos Uniandinos que cumplieron su sueño de hacer MATCH

    El camino hacia la especialización médica es un reto que exige excelencia, vocación y...

  • Primera visita de un Nobel en el Centro de Prácticas

    Pionero en el desarrollo de tecnologías clave para la creación de nuevos medicamentos...

  • Admitidos Residencias 2025-2

    Encuentra aquí el número de documento de los admitidos a nuestras residencias:

    ...
  • Foro de Residentes 2025: Conectando el futuro de la Urología
  • Implante coclear: un legado de transformación en Colombia

    Desde que en 1992 el Dr....

  • Workshop - Artificial intelligence and other transformative tech

    Revive nuestro evento

    ...

  • ¿En qué va el modelamiento de pandemias? - Club de Revistas

    Revive nuestro evento

    ...