JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Citizen science is slowly, but finally emerging as a pertinent concept in active living research (ALR) because active citizenship to inform healthy environments is not limited to “physically active” citizens. With citizen science having intrinsic links with community-based research, where participatory action drives the agenda, it is time to integrate these two concepts to minimize the equity gap between the “ active” and the “sedentary”. Community-based participatory research has a strong record of application across multiple disciplines and sectors to address health inequities by building capacity and integrating knowledge translation. Citizen science can utilize the structure of community-based participatory research to take local approaches to problem solving to a global scale, because citizen science emerged through individual environmental activism that is not limited by geography. This synergy has significant implications beyond ALR (i.e., nutrition), as building healthy environments has linkages with planetary health in this age of climate change. In addressing planetary health, systems science offers a theoretical and methodological strength to citizen science and community-based participatory research. Systems science takes a holistic perspective to understand complex mechanisms that focus on causality in going beyond linear relationships by utilizing big data driven advanced computational models. However, to truly integrate citizen science, community-based participatory research, and systems science, it is time to realize the power of one ubiquitous tool that connects us all and provides big data – the smartphone. Smartphones have the reach to not only create equity by providing voice to disenfranchised citizens, but smartphone-based applications also have the power to source big data to inform policies through the voice of the citizens. An imminent challenge in legitimizing citizen science is minimizing bias by standardizing methods and enhancing data quality, a rigorous process that requires researchers to collaborate with citizen scientists utilizing the principles of community-based participatory research action. Nevertheless, a smartphone is truly the elephant in the room because researchers have not even scratched the surface in leveraging its potential, a conundrum that is further magnified for active living researchers who have to overcome the fact that this device is a source of consistent screen time.