Here we address the issue of “domestic helicopter research,”which occurs when well-resourced institutions conduct studies on marginalised communities or through resource limited institutions (RLIs) with minimal involvement or equitable benefit for local researchers or community members. The authors, a multidisciplinary team of health equity researchers, argue that this practice mirrors the historical concept of “helicopter research” prevalent in global health and perpetuates structural inequities by limiting RLI influence and diverting resources. The paper provides examples of this exploitative research and discusses the negative consequences, such as eroding trust and degrading the quality of scholarship. Finally, the authors propose several strategies to end domestic helicopter research, including advocating for equitable funding distribution, ensuring RLIs receive appropriate credit, and adopting models like Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR).
Research paper:
Lambert WM, Camacho-Rivera M, Boutin-Foster C, Salifu M,Riley WJ. Ending "domestic helicopter research". Cell. 2024 Apr 11;187(8):1823-1827
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