Citizens and community representatives integrated into the European CAIR project, led by the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH), participated as speakers at the 1st Conference of the Research Program in Health Services and Clinical Practice of the CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), held at the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB). The citizen scientists were accompanied by UMH researchers Blanca Lumbreras Lacarra, Marta Puig García, and Noelia Navarro Aranda.
“"The special session in which the CAIR team participated, titled The voice of the community: citizen experiences in the CAIR project, highlighted the crucial importance of citizen science and participatory action research in decisions related to health and well-being. Among the citizen speakers who shared their experience of integration into the scientific process were José Lucena Delgado (president of the Porfirio Pascual Neighbors Association); Glenda Caridad Márquez Morffi (participant in the CAIR project); and Erica Soto Molina (representative of the CEIP Baix Vinalopó Parents' Association)."
The UMH's CAIR project is based on the premise that health promotion strategies are more effective, sustainable, and inclusive when co-created with the communities they are intended for. Through this approach, local residents and entities cease to be mere passive recipients of biomedical interventions and become active agents who identify needs, contribute their experiences, and participate directly in designing community solutions for mental health, cardiovascular health, and the rational use of health services and medications.
With this community involvement in research, the CAIR project reinforces its commitment to transferring the participatory methodologies developed in the neighborhoods of Elche to the scientific community, highlighting how the alliance between academia, citizens, and associative fabric transforms public health research.
