It is clear for all to see that in the attainment of sustainable growth and development, health plays a crucial role. The question of accessibility of the health benefits by the poor brings to the fore the role of participatory research and action. This book attempts to show how different participatory approaches are useful in improving mass health, and document practices in health intervention through participatory action and research. Approaches like Participatory Action Research (PAR), Community Participation (CP) and Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) are discussed in possible detail wherever deemed necessary. CBPR is particularly viewed as consistent with the goals of "result-oriented philanthropy" of various national as well as international funding agencies who often become discouraged by the modest or even disappointing results of more traditional research and intervention efforts in many low income communities. Supporters of participatory approaches, however, face challenging issues in the areas of partnership capacity and readiness, time requirements, funding flexibility, evaluation and so on. The book intends to identify strategies for addressing such issues through documentation of desirable practices justifying participation as an important tool for effectively addressing health issues. It is expected to be of use for development professionals, policy planners, public administrators, applied anthropologists, social work professionals and other social scientists.