Building collective control and improving health through a place-based community empowerment initiative: qualitative evidence from communities seeking agency over their built environment

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Matt Egan ◽  
Katherine Abba ◽  
Amy Barnes ◽  
Michelle Collins ◽  
Vicki McGowan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Community Empowerment ◽  
Qualitative Evidence ◽  
Collective Control

scholarly journals The Rohingya Little Local: exploring innovative models of refugee engagement in Sydney, Australia

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 367
Author(s):  
Amy Bestman ◽  
Jane Lloyd ◽  
Barbara Hawkshaw ◽  
Jawat Kabir ◽  
Elizabeth Harris
Keyword(s):  
Community Empowerment ◽  
Health Priorities ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Funding Model ◽  
Collective Control ◽  
Ongoing Work ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
The City ◽  
Priority Population ◽  
Sydney Australia

The Rohingya community living in the City of Canterbury-Bankstown in Sydney have been identified as a priority population with complex health needs. As part of ongoing work, AU$10000 was provided to the community to address important, self-determined, health priorities through the Can Get Health in Canterbury program. Program staff worked with community members to support the planning and implementation of two community-led events: a soccer (football) tournament and a picnic day. This paper explores the potential for this funding model and the effect of the project on both the community and health services. Data were qualitatively analysed using a range of data sources within the project. These included, attendance sheets, meeting minutes, qualitative field notes, staff reflections and transcripts of focus group and individual discussions. This analysis identified that the project: (1) enabled community empowerment and collective control over funding decisions relating to their health; (2) supported social connection among the Australian Rohingya community; (3) built capacity in the community welfare organisation –Burmese Rohingya Community Australia; and (4) enabled reflective practice and learnings. This paper presents an innovative model for engaging with refugee communities. Although this project was a pilot in the Canterbury community, it provides knowledge and learnings on the engagement of refugee communities with the health system in Australia.

scholarly journals Power, control, communities and health inequalities I: theories, concepts and analytical frameworks

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennie Popay ◽  
Margaret Whitehead ◽  
Ruth Ponsford ◽  
Matt Egan ◽  
Rebecca Mead
Keyword(s):  
Health Equity ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Community Empowerment ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Community Settings ◽  
Collective Control ◽  
Communities Of Place ◽  
Analytical Frameworks ◽  
Health Field ◽  
Original Concept

Summary This is Part I of a three-part series on community empowerment as a route to greater health equity. We argue that community ‘empowerment’ approaches in the health field are increasingly restricted to an inward gaze on community psycho-social capacities and proximal neighbourhood conditions, neglecting the outward gaze on political and social transformation for greater equity embedded in foundational statements on health promotion. We suggest there are three imperatives if these approaches are to contribute to increased equity. First, to understand pathways from empowerment to health equity and drivers of the depoliticisation of contemporary empowerment practices. Second, to return to the original concept of empowerment processes that support communities of place/interest to develop capabilities needed to exercise collective control over decisions and actions in the pursuit of social justice. Third, to understand, and engage with, power dynamics in community settings. Based on our longitudinal evaluation of a major English community empowerment initiative and research on neighbourhood resilience, we propose two complementary frameworks to support these shifts. The Emancipatory Power Framework presents collective control capabilities as forms of positive power. The Limiting Power Framework elaborates negative forms of power that restrict the development and exercise of a community’s capabilities for collective control. Parts II and III of this series present empirical findings on the operationalization of these frameworks. Part II focuses on qualitative markers of shifts in emancipatory power in BL communities and Part III explores how power dynamics unfolded in these neighbourhoods.

scholarly journals Power, control, communities and health inequalities III: participatory spaces—an English case

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Powell ◽  
Amy Barnes ◽  
Rachel Anderson de Cuevas ◽  
Clare Bambra ◽  
Emma Halliday ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Empowerment ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Sense Making ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Community Initiatives ◽  
Disadvantaged Communities ◽  
Institutional Power ◽  
Collective Control ◽  
Alliance Building

Summary This article—third in a series of three—uses theoretical frameworks described in Part 1, and empirical markers reported in Part 2, to present evidence on how power dynamics shifted during the early years of a major English community empowerment initiative. We demonstrate how the capabilities disadvantaged communities require to exercise collective control over decisions/actions impacting on their lives and health (conceptualized as emancipatory power) and the exercise of power over these communities (conceptualized as limiting power) were shaped by the characteristics of participatory spaces created by and/or associated with this initiative. Two main types of participatory spaces were identified: governance and sense-making. Though all forms of emancipatory power emerged in all spaces, some were more evident in particular spaces. In governance spaces, the development and enactment of ‘power to’ emerged as residents made formal decisions on action, allocated resources and managed accountability. Capabilities for alliance building—power with—were more likely to emerge in these spaces, as was residents’ resistance to the exercise of institutional power over them. In contrast, in sense-making spaces residents met informally and ‘made sense’ of local issues and their ability to influence these. These processes led to the development of power within capabilities and power to resist stigmatizing forms of productive power. The findings highlight the importance of designing community initiatives that: nurture diverse participatory spaces; attend to connectivity between spaces; and identify and act on existing power dynamics undermining capabilities for collective control in disadvantaged communities.

scholarly journals Impact of a community empowerment programme in disadvantaged UK neighbourhoods: results of a survey

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
A M Bagnall ◽  
J Trigwell ◽  
C Heisse ◽  
A Quick ◽  
K Southby ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Community Empowerment ◽  
Level Of Involvement ◽  
Deprived Neighbourhoods ◽  
Collective Control ◽  
Power And Control ◽  
Tentative Evidence ◽  
To Come ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Positive Impacts

Abstract Background A community empowerment programme in the UK aims to enable people to have greater collective control over area-based decision making, improved health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities, by providing small grants to support residents of deprived neighbourhoods and communities of interest to come together to take action on issues of importance to them. Methods A survey was conducted at 4 6-month intervals as part of a mixed methods evaluation, to collect data about participant demographics, level of involvement, opinions of the project, and impacts. The survey was self-completed online or on paper, and distributed by local project leads. Outcome questions were adapted from the UK Government Community Life Survey to facilitate comparison with national statistics. Data were analysed using SPSS to produce descriptive statistics, supported by inferential statistical tests where appropriate. Regression analysis using multi-level modelling was used to estimate the conditional correlation between health outcome and Local People project participation. Results 1053 people from 29 local areas responded to the survey over the 4 time points; only 93 responded more than once. 43% took part in project activities, 36% were local project committee members and 19% were volunteers. The analysis found positive impacts on confidence, control, friendships, skills, happiness, life satisfaction, feelings of worth (p < 0.05), and that greater length and degree of involvement in the projects were associated with greater positive impacts on all of these outcomes. Conclusions The survey provides tentative evidence that participation in a community empowerment initiative may result in improved wellbeing, feelings of power and control, sense of belonging and trust. People who are involved for longer or more deeply involved are more likely to see these impacts. More community-based survey research is needed to gather people's views on neighbourhood initiatives. Key messages An evaluation of a community empowerment programme found positive impacts on control, wellbeing, belonging and trust. Greater length or degree of involvement were associated with greater impact.

Community Empowerment and Health Equity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennie Popay
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Health Equity ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Community Empowerment ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Collective Control

Empowerment features prominently in public health and health promotion policy and practice aimed at improving the social determinants of health that impact communities and groups that are experiencing disadvantage and discrimination. This raises two important questions. How should empowerment be understood from the perspective of health and health equity and how can public health practitioners support empowerment for greater health equity? Many contemporary definitions link empowerment to improvements in individual self-care and/or the adoption of “healthier” lifestyles. In contrast, from a health equity perspective community empowerment is understood as sociopolitical processes that engage with power dynamics and result in people bearing the brunt of social injustice exercising greater collective control over decisions and actions that impact their lives and health. There is growing evidence that increased collective control at the population level is associated with improved social determinants of health and population health outcomes. But alongside this, there is also evidence that many contemporary community interventions are not “empowering” for the people targeted and may actually be having negative impacts. To achieve more positive outcomes, existing frameworks need to be used to recenter power in the design, implementation, and evaluation of local community initiatives in the health field. In addition, health professionals and agencies must act to remove barriers to the empowerment of disadvantaged communities and groups. They can do this by taking experiential knowledge more seriously, by challenging processes that stigmatize disadvantaged groups, and by developing sustainable spaces for the authentic participation of lay communities of interest and place in decisions that have an impact on their lives.

Progress In The Practical Application Of Automated Image Analysis To Tem Negatives

1977 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 214-217
Author(s):  
F. A. Heckman ◽  
E. Redman ◽  
J.E. Connolly
Keyword(s):  
Image Analysis ◽  
Image Quality ◽  
Exposure Time ◽  
Image Contrast ◽  
Automated Image Analysis ◽  
Practical Application ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
High Image Quality ◽  
Qualitative Evidence ◽  
Comprehensive Study

In our initial publication on this subject1) we reported results demonstrating that contrast is the most important factor in producing the high image quality required for reliable image analysis. We also listed the factors which enhance contrast in order of the experimentally determined magnitude of their effect. The two most powerful factors affecting image contrast attainable with sheet film are beam intensity and KV. At that time we had only qualitative evidence for the ranking of enhancing factors. Later we carried out the densitometric measurements which led to the results outlined below.Meaningful evaluations of the cause-effect relationships among the considerable number of variables in preparing EM negatives depend on doing things in a systematic way, varying only one parameter at a time. Unless otherwise noted, we adhered to the following procedure evolved during our comprehensive study:Philips EM-300; 30μ objective aperature; magnification 7000- 12000X, exposure time 1 second, anti-contamination device operating.

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