Chandigarh:
The five-day Transdisciplinary Workshop on Participatory Action Research (PAR), held from 5 to 9 October 2026 at Hotel Parkview, Sector 24B, Chandigarh, concluded yesterday, bringing together researchers, public health practitioners and experts to promote community-led, participatory and action-oriented approaches to public health research.
Organised by the Health Equity Action Learnings (HEAL) Foundation, with academic support from the Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health, PGIMER Chandigarh, and the Institute of Public Health (IPH), Bengaluru, the workshop was funded by the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
The workshop featured expert sessions, practical exercises, case studies and a community field visit, covering participatory research methods, community engagement, research ethics, power dynamics and translating community perspectives into policy and practice. Case studies from PRAXIS and Ekjut, Jharkhand, highlighted people-led research with marginalised communities and participatory approaches to improving maternal and newborn health.
The workshop brought together faculty and facilitators Dr. Rajesh Kumar, Dr. Manmeet Kaur, Dr. PVM Lakshmi, Dr. Tanya Seshadri, Dr. Tom Thomas, Dr. Dheeraj, Dr. Prasanta Tripathy, Dr. Sachin Barbde, Dr. Vikas Kumar and Dr. Vineeth Rajagopal , representing expertise across public health, participatory research and community-based interventions. Dr. Ashoo Grover, Scientist G and Head, Division of Delivery Research, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi, led a session on research proposal development and funding opportunities on the concluding day.
The workshop concluded with group discussions, participant reflections and a closing ceremony. It emphasised the importance of equitable partnerships among communities, researchers and health systems to generate evidence that informs policies, strengthens programmes and drives meaningful public health action.
