From data extraction to social transformation: decolonial research practices in a rural traditional pomeranian community in Brazil
1
Programa de Pós Graduação em Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Vitória, Brazil
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A689
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Research conducted with traditional peoples and communities often reproduces exploitative data extraction practices, in which individuals are used as sources of information and subsequently abandoned after the dissemination of results¹. This logic violates fundamental ethical principles of scientific research, such as generation of benefits for the populations studied². In collective health, it is urgent to critically examine these structures and to build decolonial scientific practices committed to knowledge return and to concrete transformation of the realities investigated³.
METHODS:
This study presents an experience report derived from research conducted in a rural traditional Pomeranian community in Brazil, using mixed-methods approach. This strategy for returning scientific knowledge involved sharing results with local entities and translating them into concrete actions through articulation with the community, health professionals, municipal management, and the legislative branch, aiming to deliver benefits to the populations that participated in the studies.
RESULTS:
The investigations identified a prevalence of early weaning of 63.4% and analyzed the reasons and impacts of this phenomenon on maternal and child care. Social, cultural, and institutional factors were associated with early weaning and guided the development of intervention strategies. As a direct outcome, intersectoral collaboration was established with the municipal government, the health department, and the city council, culminating in the proposal of a bill mandating semiannual training of municipal health professionals in breastfeeding, grounded in the evidence produced.
CONCLUSIONS:
This experience demonstrates that science committed to ethics and social justice must move beyond the restricted production and circulation of academic knowledge, assuming responsibility for transforming the realities investigated based on research findings. The socialization of knowledge, combined with political engagement and the collective construction of solutions grounded in evidence and local knowledge, represents a powerful pathway for promoting health equity and strengthening research practices that generate tangible benefits for traditional communities.
Research conducted with traditional peoples and communities often reproduces exploitative data extraction practices, in which individuals are used as sources of information and subsequently abandoned after the dissemination of results¹. This logic violates fundamental ethical principles of scientific research, such as generation of benefits for the populations studied². In collective health, it is urgent to critically examine these structures and to build decolonial scientific practices committed to knowledge return and to concrete transformation of the realities investigated³.
METHODS:
This study presents an experience report derived from research conducted in a rural traditional Pomeranian community in Brazil, using mixed-methods approach. This strategy for returning scientific knowledge involved sharing results with local entities and translating them into concrete actions through articulation with the community, health professionals, municipal management, and the legislative branch, aiming to deliver benefits to the populations that participated in the studies.
RESULTS:
The investigations identified a prevalence of early weaning of 63.4% and analyzed the reasons and impacts of this phenomenon on maternal and child care. Social, cultural, and institutional factors were associated with early weaning and guided the development of intervention strategies. As a direct outcome, intersectoral collaboration was established with the municipal government, the health department, and the city council, culminating in the proposal of a bill mandating semiannual training of municipal health professionals in breastfeeding, grounded in the evidence produced.
CONCLUSIONS:
This experience demonstrates that science committed to ethics and social justice must move beyond the restricted production and circulation of academic knowledge, assuming responsibility for transforming the realities investigated based on research findings. The socialization of knowledge, combined with political engagement and the collective construction of solutions grounded in evidence and local knowledge, represents a powerful pathway for promoting health equity and strengthening research practices that generate tangible benefits for traditional communities.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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