20.500.12556/DiRROS-24506 “Challenging but worth it!” the purpose of participatory research in urban health, an evaluation and derived framework “Challenging but worth it!”: the purpose of participatory research in urban health, an evaluation and derived framework Participatory approaches are becoming paramount to harness the relationship between researchers, government, industry, and civil society to inform programs and policies. However, variability in implementation and limited standardized reporting hinder the systematic evaluation of their effectiveness. This study characterizes participatory methodologies in urban health research and proposes a framework for evaluating and reporting such approaches. Using an explanatory sequential design, this study evaluated 20 participatory pilot studies from the Urban Health Cluster (Horizon 2020 European Commission Programme), combining survey data and semi-structured interviews with project leads. The analysis identified four primary purposes for participatory methods: to assess health-environment correlations; raise awareness; co-create interventions; and assess health-related effects. Case studies exemplify each of these purposes. Findings informed a “purpose framework” nested within a theory-of-change model, which clarifies the rationale behind participatory approaches and maps their processes and intended impacts. The framework includes indicators for purpose, stakeholder involvement, participation mechanisms, facilitators, challenges, expected outcomes, and evaluation strategies, reported across all 20 projects. Public authorities (90 %) and civil society (85 %) are the most frequently engaged stakeholders, typically involved during project identification and deployment. Engagement was facilitated by shared motivation to address local needs, while long-term commitment posed challenges. Our results highlight the limited use of theory-of-change models in current practice and the value of structured frameworks for enhancing the reproducibility and transformative impact of participatory urban health research. The proposed framework can help align participatory methods with a theory of change and foster more effective urban health transformations. participatory research public engagement standardized reporting urban health vpletenost javnosti standardizacija poročanja true false true Elsevier Nizozemska Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik © 2025 The Author(s). Neznano 2025-12-03 12:06:56 2025-12-03 12:06:57 2025-12-04 03:46:30 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 Nasl. z nasl. zaslona; Soavtorja iz Slovenije: Rok Novak, David Kocman; Opis vira z dne 6. 11. 2025; str. 1-17 Vol. 169, [article no.] 106569 Feb. 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 2024-10-15 2025-10-04 2025-10-17 001 1873-6084 10.1016/j.cities.2025.106569 256085763 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264275125008728?via%3Dihub 1 33179ec9-d038-11f0-94a7-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=36526 RAZ_Rubio_Maria_Alejandra_2026.pdf RAZ_Rubio_Maria_Alejandra_2026.pdf 1 507F3EF8C98500533AD842CE0483A14A 0e226928c95db7bedac839986536294f6b8dcc0baad39ffabb3fe5581884dddd 75ff760a-d038-11f0-94a7-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=36527 Institut Jožef Stefan 0 0 0