Abstract
The basis for this article was a health promotion program based on participatory action research and work-integrated learning (WIL). Seven Roma people were employed and trained to work as local coordinators to empower the local Roma community by strengthening their participation in society and their sense of community, as well as to promote self-led integration. The study aimed to analyze the program from the Roma coordinators’ perspectives, focusing on perceived individual empowerment and perceptions of contribution to the common good and to community empowerment. The findings, based on qualitative data, primarily interviews with the Roma coordinators, indicated that the WIL approach, the participatory nature of the program, and the trust and support from the Roma colleagues and non-Roma facilitators were essential for the development of empowerment. Three main themes emerged that portrayed the participants’ psychological empowerment: strengthened Roma identity, a sense of power, and a sense of enculturated social inclusion.
Highlights
The Roma people’s situation in Europe has been highlighted frequently in the media and on scientific circuits
The findings indicated that the work-integrated learning (WIL) approach, the participatory nature of the program, and the trust and support from the Roma colleagues and the non-Roma facilitators were essential for the development of empowerment
The findings indicated that the participants were generally willing, to some extent, to set aside their families and Roma traditions for the common good of the Roma people
Summary
The Roma people’s situation in Europe has been highlighted frequently in the media and on scientific circuits. Efforts to ensure social inclusion and rights for the Roma are a priority at the highest political levels in Europe (WHO, 2012). Studies have identified obstacles to Roma empowerment in the social determinants of health: lack of education, unemployment, low self-esteem, isolation, prejudice, discrimination (including structural discrimination), and constrained thinking in the Swedish welfare system (Eklund & Crondahl, 2010). Roma in Sweden have been the targets of relief efforts conducted by “experts” and other authorities, rather than being involved in the decisions regarding these efforts. In recent years, this strategy has been questioned (Palosuo, 2008; Official Government Reports; SOU, 2010). Previous studies of the Roma and other minority groups have found that a participatory approach might improve trust between research subjects and researchers, improving social justice and ensuring the inclusion of the minority perspectives throughout in projects and the implementation of their findings (Kósa & Adany, 2007)
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