Citizen scientists collecting data in a grocery store.

Citizen Science: Transforming Public Health Research in Your Community

Kai Mendoza in Health & Wellness August 2025 • 4 min read.

"Unlock the power of community engagement: How citizen science is revolutionizing health studies in local food environments."

Public engagement is vital for effective public health research, practice, and informed decision-making. The concept of citizen science, where members of the public actively contribute to scientific research, has been around since the early 1900s. Today, there's growing interest in using it to tackle various health challenges.

In health research, engaging the public can take many forms. Citizen science emphasizes a strong partnership between researchers and the community. It empowers citizens to address public health issues in their own environments, leading to more democratic and community-driven solutions.

Citizen science involves the public as active contributors to scientific projects. One of the earliest examples is the Christmas Bird Count, which began in 1900. Volunteers across North America collect data on wildlife, providing valuable insights for conservation biology. While citizen science is well-established in other fields, it's still emerging in public health.

What is Citizen Science and How Can It Improve Public Health?

Citizen scientists collecting data in a grocery store.

Citizen science enhances community capacity and empowers citizens to advocate for and act upon public health issues concerning their local environments. A 2013 European green paper defined citizen science as "the general public engagement in scientific research activities when citizens actively contribute to science either with their intellectual effort or surrounding knowledge or with their tools and resources". Citizens are not just passive recipients of research findings; they actively shape the research process.

Researchers hypothesize that citizen science approaches are often embraced but underreported or described using other terminology. Citizen science can be classified according to its aims (investigation, education, promoting collective goods, and/or action); its approaches (extreme citizen science, where citizens lead the entire research process, versus participatory citizen science, where citizens participate in problem definition and data collection, distributed intelligence, and crowd sourcing); and its size (local versus mass).

Investigation: Citizen science can help investigate public health problems by gathering data and identifying trends.
Education: It educates the public about scientific research and health issues.
Promoting Collective Goods: It can promote community health and well-being.
Action: It empowers citizens to take action to improve their health and communities.

Citizen science empowers everyday people to participate directly in scientific research. By providing tools and training, researchers can tap into the knowledge and observations of community members to address local health challenges. Whether it's monitoring air quality, tracking disease outbreaks, or analyzing food environments, citizen science offers a powerful approach to democratizing research and improving public health outcomes.

The Future of Citizen Science in Public Health

Citizen science has significant potential for diverse applications in public health. This commentary prompts further dialogue about its application in food environment research. By involving community members in research, we can create more relevant and effective interventions to improve public health.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.17269/cjph.108.6099, Alternate LINK

Title: An Exploration Of Citizen Science For Population Health Research In Retail Food Environments

Subject: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Journal: Canadian Journal of Public Health

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Authors: Stephanie J. Pomeroy, Leia M. Minaker, Catherine L. Mah

Published: 2017-09-01

Everything You Need To Know

What is citizen science, and why is it important for improving public health?

Citizen science is a research approach where members of the public actively participate in scientific studies. It's important in public health because it allows citizens to contribute their knowledge and resources to address health issues in their own communities. Citizen science can help investigate public health problems, educate the public, promote collective goods, and empower citizens to take action. Involving the public leads to more democratic and community-driven solutions, increasing the relevance and effectiveness of interventions.

Why is public engagement so important for effective public health research, and how does citizen science play a role?

Public engagement is vital for effective public health research because it ensures that research is relevant to the needs and priorities of the community. Citizen science is one form of public engagement that strengthens the partnership between researchers and the community. This leads to more democratic and community-driven solutions. When the public is involved, research is more likely to address the real-world challenges faced by communities, ultimately leading to better public health outcomes.

How is citizen science classified, and why is it important to understand these classifications?

Citizen science can be classified based on its aims, approaches, and size. Aims include investigation, education, promoting collective goods, and action. Approaches can range from extreme citizen science, where citizens lead the entire research process, to participatory citizen science, where citizens participate in problem definition and data collection. It is important to understand these classifications to tailor citizen science projects to specific goals and contexts. These classifications help researchers design and implement citizen science projects effectively.

How does citizen science empower everyday people to participate in scientific research, and why is this significant?

Citizen science empowers everyday people to participate in scientific research by providing tools and training to community members. This is significant because it democratizes research and allows for a broader range of perspectives and expertise to be included. Citizen scientists can contribute by monitoring air quality, tracking disease outbreaks, or analyzing food environments. In doing so, research can tap into the knowledge and observations of community members to address local health challenges. It helps improve public health outcomes.

What is the potential of citizen science in the field of public health?

Citizen science has significant potential in public health because it can be applied to diverse areas such as food environment research. Involving community members in research leads to more relevant and effective interventions to improve public health. It promotes community engagement and ensures that research addresses the specific needs of local populations. The integration of citizen science into public health research can lead to more sustainable and impactful solutions.