Community Of Belgium Research Articles

Co-creation of social innovations for healthy ageing in rural Europe – a process evaluation of a volunteer-led guided conversation toolkit using Normalisation Process Theory (NPT)

ABSTRACT We critically explored the use of Normalisation Process Theory (NPT) in the evaluation of a co-designed intervention toolkit for Healthy Ageing through Innovation in Rural Europe (HAIRE). The toolkit was co-designed and implemented in rural communities in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. NPT was applied as a novel analytical framework to shed light on key practices and processes that supported implementation. Further, the paper discusses how social innovation research helps frame co-designing such interventions with local communities. During the study, 25 semi-structured interviews were conducted with project partners and volunteers who were involved in toolkit co-design and implementation. A need for co-designing toolkits that explore ageing holistically was identified. Holistic understandings of ageing can be developed by paying attention to person-centred and place-based (context-specific) aspects of ageing. Finally, we illustrate how NPT can guide future evaluation frameworks as it offers the flexibility required to understand context-specific implementation.

Medicinal Plant Use Among the Congolese (Democratic Republic of Congo) Community in Belgium

Medicinal Plant Use Among the Congolese (Democratic Republic of Congo) Community in Belgium

Community relations under pressure: Local residents’ perceptions of corporate crisis communication

ABSTRACT High-risk organizations, such as chemical companies, are urged to engage in long-term, dialogic community relations with local residents. Community engagement can establish organizational legitimacy and help to address local concerns. However, stakeholders may be skeptical toward communication efforts made by high-risk organizations, especially during crisis situations. This qualitative study explores whether two Belgian communities are skeptical of the communication efforts made by chemical companies regarding pollution crises, what motives they attribute to the crisis communication, and which communication characteristics shape those attributions. In-depth interviews with 47 local community members reveal that the crisis communication efforts were considered self-serving and attributed to corporate concerns over (a) legitimacy, (b) financial consequences and (c) legal liability. Interviewees believed that these self-serving motives took precedence over public interests. This study also describes communication cues that triggered or strengthened suspicions. Practical recommendations are proposed for chemical companies to improve relationships with local communities.

Increasing retrofit device adoption in social housing: Evidence from two field experiments in Belgium

Energy efficient technologies are particularly important for social housing settings: they offer the potential to improve tenants' wellbeing through monetary savings and comfort, while reducing emissions of entire communities. Slow uptake of innovative energy technology in social housing has been associated with a lack of trust and the perceived risks of adoption. To counteract both, we designed a communication campaign for a retrofit technology for heating including social norms for technology adoption and concretely experienced benefits. We report two randomized controlled trials (RCT) in two different social housing communities in Belgium. In the first study, randomization was on housing block level: the communication led to significant higher uptake rates compared to the control group, (β = 1.7, p = 0.024). In the second study randomization occurred on apartment level, again yielding a significant increase (β = 1.62, p = .02), when an interaction with housing blocks was considered. We discuss challenges of conducting randomized controlled trials in social housing communities.

Plant use and perceptions in the context of sexual health among people of Congolese descent in Belgium

BackgroundThe use of medicinal plants is integral to global healthcare systems, with Sub-Saharan Africa maintaining a robust tradition of herbal medicine alongside Western-oriented healthcare. As migrant communities tend to continue traditional herbal practices after migration, documenting this use is vital to develop culturally sensitive healthcare. This study investigates plant usage and perspectives in the context of sexual and reproductive health among the Congolese community in Belgium, particularly in the Matongé quarter of Brussels. Our research questions were: (1) What is the current knowledge of medicinal plants among the Congolese community in Belgium in the context of sexual health, and what are the applications and commonly employed administration methods of these plants? (2) What role does herbal medicine play in the context of sexual health for people of Congolese descent in Belgium and how this is influenced by perceptions of sexuality? and (3) Is there a gender bias in the use of medicinal plants, and if so, can this be related to perceived gender norms?MethodsWe conducted 22 semi-structured interviews with people of Congolese descent currently living in Belgium. Participants were selected using both snowball sampling and purposive sampling. Plant use in the context of sexual health was recorded through freelisting. Data on narratives, ideas, and perceptions of this plant use in the context of sexual health were collected. Interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis.ResultsWe identified 17 plant species used for sexual health. Three overarching themes emerged from our data. Plants were used with a notable gender bias favoring male sexual potency enhancement. Men used these plants for both remedying potency issues and enhancing sexual prowess. In contrast, knowledge about plants for female sexual health was limited. Gender norms reinforced the importance of male sexual potency, while stigmatizing open discussions of female sexuality.ConclusionsThe use of medicinal plants for sexual health raises health, social, and conservation concerns, underscoring the need for further research in this area. This study contributes to understanding medicinal plant use within the Congolese community in Belgium and highlights the necessity for future research on herbal practices for female sexual health in this context.

CIRCULAR MIGRATION EXPERIENCES OF THE ELDERLY TURKISH MIGRANTS IN BELGIUM: A QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS

The Turkish migrants in Belgium is one of the largest migrant population in Belgium and Europe. For the Turkish community in Belgium, maintaining social and emotional ties with the homeland is still of great importance, and their life in Belgium is not completely disconnected from Turkey. On the contrary, most of the Turkish population in Belgium, especially elderly Turkish migrants, have a circular migration dynamic in which they spend almost half of the year in Turkey and the rest of the time in the country of immigration. This circular migration dynamic has some social and economic benefits for the first and second generation Turkish migrants in Belgium, who are mostly in their aging process nowadays. Besides these benefits, experiencing to be an elderly circular migrant between Belgium and Turkey may also cause some challenges. This study aims to explore the experiences of elderly Turkish migrants regarding being circular migrants. Consistent with the purpose of the study, 14 elderly Turkish migrants, who have a circular migration dynamic between Belgium and Turkey, participated in the study. The qualitative interviews of the study were carried out in the Emirdağ district of the Afyon province of Turkey, where the Turkish population migrated to Belgium in the 1960s reside heavily. The findings of the study show that, despite some challenges encountered, circular migration occurs as an effective strategy for the elderly Turkish migrants in Emirdağ in terms of benefiting the resources of both countries in the aging process.

The Sense of Place of Local Mining Heritage in Wallonia

ABSTRACT Mining activities have shaped the landscape and local communities in Belgium and several countries worldwide. This research investigates the uses and ascribed heritage status of former coal mining sites and slag heaps that are not listed as major mining sites. Many former mining sites lack official recognition and are challenging for planning and regional development. However, in many places, populations, NGOs, and authorities want to maintain the traces of local history, which mostly requires finding new usages. Based on an oral survey of residents living near two former Belgian mining sites and semi-structured interviews with actors active in transforming these sites (regarding their functions and physical components), this paper analyzes the relations between the population and these places and explores the interests of local actors. Through descriptive and exploratory statistical analyses, we underline that former mining sites and their slag heaps provide several services for society (including recreational, environmental, and cultural services), which make them significant for inhabitants. Furthermore, while local authorities showed low interest in mining heritage, they recognize the assets of former mining sites to support urban and economic development and the preservation of green infrastructure and cultural heritage. Today, various local actors influence the preservation and management of local mining heritage by selecting elements of the place’s history, developing new uses, and rewriting narratives that include past and present activities.

Towards Improved Data Flows for the Management of Invasive Alien Species and Wildlife: A LIFE RIPARIAS use case

Invasive alien species (IAS) are recognised as a major threat to biodiversity. To prevent the introduction and spread of IAS, the European Union Regulation (EU) 1143/2014 imposes an obligation on Member States to both develop management strategies for IAS of Union Concern and report on those interventions. For this, we need to collect and combine management data and streamline management actions. This is still a major challenge: the landscape of IAS management is diverse and includes different authorities, managers, businesses and non-governmental organizations. Some organizations have developed their own specific software applications for recording management actions. For other organizations, such a software system is lacking. Their management data are scattered, not harmonized, and often not openly available. For EU reporting, a workflow is needed to centralize all information about the applied management method, management effort, cost, effectiveness and impact of the performed actions on other biota or the environment. At this moment, such a workflow is lacking in Belgium. One of the aims of the LIFE RIPARIAS project is to set up a workflow for harmonizing IAS management data in Belgium. Based on the input from the IAS management community in Belgium, we were able to: draft a community-driven data model and exchange format called manIAS (MANagement of Invasive Alien Species, Reyserhove et al. 2022), and identify the minimal requirements a software application should have for being successfully used in the field (Hillaert et al. 2022). draft a community-driven data model and exchange format called manIAS (MANagement of Invasive Alien Species, Reyserhove et al. 2022), and identify the minimal requirements a software application should have for being successfully used in the field (Hillaert et al. 2022). In this presentation, we will explore both outputs, the lessons learned and the way forward. With our work, we aim to facilitate coordination and transfer of information between the different actors involved in IAS and wildlife management, not only on a Belgian scale, but also within an international context.

PrEP Among Sub-Saharan African Diaspora Communities in Belgium - a Participatory Action Research Study.

In Belgium, migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) accounted for 45% of new heterosexual HIV infections in 2021, while only 1.5% of PrEP starters were of SSA descent. We explored the acceptance of PrEP and barriers towards PrEP uptake and use among SSA migrant and diaspora communities in Belgium using a participatory action research approach. Trained community researchers (CRs), involved in all phases of the study, co-designed and moderated group discussions (GDs) while simultaneously providing information on HIV and PrEP during workshops. Extensive summaries and field notes were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. CRs were involved in data analysis, interpretation and reporting. We conducted seven GDs with 51 participants. We identified five major themes: (1) Participants had limited PrEP knowledge, which created feelings of surprise and annoyance about not being informed. This was partly explained by (2) the taboo and stigma that surrounds sexuality and HIV, which could shape PrEP acceptance. (3) Participants shared feelings of otherness due to experiences of racism and discrimination, also in relationship to HIV prevention. (4) PrEP was considered a high-threshold prevention tool, because of its perceived side-effects and its specialized service delivery. (5) Despite nuanced opinions about PrEP, all participants agreed that PrEP promotion should be mainstreamed, so everyone can make an informed decision. In conclusion, PrEP seemed acceptable among our participants. Our qualitative study provides insights into the intersecting barriers to accessing HIV services, showing that SSA diaspora communities are 'hardly reached' rather than 'hard to reach' by PrEP promotion messages.

From allochronism to generationality: Ageism in queer communities in Belgium

This paper looks into ageist and generationalist assumptions that penetrate queer spatio-temporal imageries and explore how to resist oppressive temporalities. It draws on fieldwork in a queer advocacy group and qualitative interviews with trans-, lesbian-, and women-identifying participants in Belgium to explore notions of age and ageism in queer communities. The research relates to feminist generationalism and searches for more complex notions of generationality that complicate the idea of horizontal generations or waves succeeding each other in progressive time. We address the conflicts and dissimilarities across the generational divide to question and trouble the viability of allochronic categorizations in feminist queer movements.

A digital search tool for VRT’s film collection

The film collection at VRT — the public broadcaster of the Flemish community in Belgium — includes around 108,000 titles, dating from 1953 to the 1980s. This paper describes how VRT Archive has made this collection digitally accessible and searchable. The paper explains how optical character recognition and field recognition were employed in the digitisation of film index cards in order to create a fully searchable database, and includes a summary of the lessons learned. Based on these lessons, VRT Archive is now ready for future digitisation projects.

Mental Health Reform Processes and Service Delivery Shift From the Hospital to the Community in Belgium and Hong Kong.

We aimed to illustrate and compare the processes of mental health policies aiming at a service delivery shift from the hospital to the community using implementation science, and to identify important implementation strategies. This study had a comparative case study design. The cases were the Belgian mental health reform, and the person-centered model of mental health in Hong Kong, China. Several documentary sources were reviewed, including the published literature and websites. Data on policy processes were extracted, analyzed using directed content analysis, and categorized into constructs of the conceptual model for evidence-informed policy formulation and implementation arranged for the mental health policy. Several similarities were identified in the strategies for active implementation and dissemination; official staff allocation, and training to the community psychiatric services, an approach to adjust the number of psychiatric hospital beds, and promoting collaboration between health care sectors and social welfare sectors. Under distinct social contexts, differences were found in all processes. Each of the described policy processes can serve as a model for countries in similar social contexts seeking to shift their psychiatric service delivery. Furthermore, our findings suggest widely applicable implementation strategies for policies aiming at a service delivery shift.

The Permanent Citizens’ Dialogue and the Autonomy of the German-speaking Community in Belgium

The Permanent Citizens’ Dialogue and the Autonomy of the German-speaking Community in Belgium

\u2018A disease like any other\u2019 traditional, complementary and alternative medicine use and perspectives in the context of COVID-19 among the Congolese community in Belgium

BackgroundAs a hard-hit area during the COVID-19 pandemic, Belgium knew the highest mortality among people from sub-Saharan African descent, compared to any other group living in the country. After migration, people often maintain traditional perceptions and habits regarding health and healthcare, resulting in a high prevalence of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine use among different migrant communities in northern urban settings. Despite being the largest community of sub-Saharan African descent in Belgium, little is known on ethnobotanical practices of the Belgian Congolese community. We therefore conducted an exploratory study on the use of medicinal plants in the context of COVID-19 and perceptions on this new disease among members of the Congolese community in Belgium.MethodsWe conducted 16 in-depth semi-structured interviews with people of Congolese descent currently living in Belgium. Participants were selected using purposive sampling. Medicinal plant use in the context of COVID-19 was recorded through free-listing. Data on narratives, ideas and perceptions on the origin, cause/aetiology and overall measures against COVID-19 (including vaccination) were collected. Interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis.ResultsFour overarching themes emerged from our data. Firstly, participants perceived the representation of the severity of COVID-19 by the Belgian media and government—and by extend by all governmental agencies in the global north—as exaggerated. As a result, traditional and complementary treatments were seen as feasible options to treat symptoms of the disease. Fifteen forms of traditional, complementary and alternative medicine were documented, of which thirteen were plants. Participants seem to fold back on their Congolese identity and traditional knowledge in seeking coping strategies to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, institutional postcolonial distrust did not only seem to lead to distrust in official messages on the COVID-19 pandemic but also to feelings of vaccination hesitancy.ConclusionIn the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, participants in our study retreated to, reshaped and adapted traditional and culture-bound knowledge. This study suggests that the fragile and sensitive relationship between sub-Saharan African migrant groups and other social/ethnic groups in Belgium might play a role in their sensitivity to health-threatening situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Use and misuse of prescription stimulants by university students: a cross-sectional survey in the french-speaking community of Belgium, 2018

BackgroundMisuse of prescription stimulants (PS) has been reported among students to enhance academic performance in Flanders (Belgium). However, PS misuse among students in the French-speaking community is unknown. The main purpose of the study was to estimate the prevalence of medical use and misuse of PS by university students in the French-speaking community (Belgium), and to investigate the reasons and sources associated with PS misuse.MethodsA cross-sectional online survey was performed in 2018. All university students 18 years and older were invited to participate and asked about PS use, including medical (i.e., used for therapeutic purposes) and nonmedical reasons and sources of PS.ResultsIn total, 12 144 students participated in the survey (median age = 21 years, 65.5% female). The estimated prevalence of PS use was 6.9% (ever use) and 5.5% (past-year). Among ever users, 34.7% were classified as medical users and 65.3% as misusers. Lifetime prevalence of misuse was estimated at 4.5%. The most common reason for medical use was treatment of attention disorder (85.9%). Reasons for misuse were mainly to improve concentration (76.1%) or to stay awake and study longer (50.7%). Friends or acquaintances inside the student community and general practitioners were the main sources of PS for misuse (41.5% and 23.5%, respectively).ConclusionsThis study found that rates of misuse of PS in French-speaking universities in Belgium were in line with studies conducted in Flanders and Europe. Academic institutions can use these results to tailor their drug prevention campaigns.

Literary extracts in secondary education, in the French and Flemish Communities in Belgium

L’article est construit dans une perspective comparatiste, en deux temps, à l’aide des opérations de Pierre Kuentz (1972). D’abord, nous analysons le prescrit officiel des Communautés française et flamande pour le cours de langue première du secondaire afin de répondre à la question suivante : quelles sont les convergences et les divergences quant aux prescriptions relatives à l’extrait ? Ensuite, nous étudions deux ouvrages belges de référence en histoire littéraire afin de répondre à la question suivante : comment les ouvrages mettent-ils en extrait et en page des œuvres littéraires ?

An assessment of operational economic benefits of renewable energy communities in Belgium

Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) are anticipated as key means to restructure the energy system in the European Union. However, there are still many open questions regarding the needed conditions that would allow their extensive roll-out. Here we propose a techno-economic model to assess the conditions needed by RECs to operate in an economic beneficial way in the Belgian context. The results indicate that while user type, user consumption and electricity tariff design are important, they are not as important as the amount of installed flexible technology, e.g. heat pumps or electric vehicles, to reduce operational costs. In scenarios with high penetration of flexible technologies the annual operational costs of the REC can be up to 17 % lower than the operational costs of the business-as-usual situation.

Federalization in the slipstream: How the German‐speaking Community of Belgium became one of the smallest federal entities in the world

AbstractIn last 50 years, Belgium has evolved from a central to a federal state. Although this process was driven by the Flemish and Francophone communities (and influenced by the Brussels‐Capital Region), a fourth much smaller entity known today as ‘German‐speaking Community’ was also integrated into the federal arrangement. This article reviews the latter's political history to go beyond the common explanation that its statute was a mere consequence of the Belgian federalization dynamic. By using historical scholarship and testimonial interviews, it shows that neither the demand nor the conferral of autonomy was automatic and that regionalist party pressures on the regional‐level and intra‐party multilevel negotiations were equally necessary for the communities' recognition as federal entity. With lessons from what it presents as a least likely case of federal entities whose autonomy dynamics followed that of larger communities with strong regionalist pressures, the article develops the concept of ‘federalization in the slipstream’.

Re-Imagining Sport Pedagogy through Youth Engagement: An Exploration of the Youth Engagement Continuum

Sport represents an important leisure context for promoting youth development. In particular, sport-based youth development (SBYD) initiatives have emerged to offer programming informed by theory rather than assumptions regarding the “power of sport”. While the importance of theory is well established in SBYD research, critical perspectives remain relatively underutilized. The purpose of this study was to analyze the sport pedagogy of six urban SBYD initiatives that work with youth from underserved communities in Belgium. Through a multiple case study approach, data were generated from focus groups, interviews, and observations. The Youth Engagement Continuum (YEC) framework was utilized to analyze data through a deductive thematic analysis. Findings indicate that the SBYD initiatives focused primarily on youth development categories of the YEC, with less engagement with more politicized and actionable elements of youth engagement. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed to inform SBYD initiatives.

An empirical validation study of Spolsky's language policy model

ABSTRACT This study investigates Spolsky's conception of language policy as the amalgam of language beliefs, language practices and language management. To the best of our knowledge, no quantitative evidence has ever been produced for his theoretical model. The current paper addressed this void, albeit specifically in the domain of Early Childhood Care and Education – scarce in terms of language policy research, but vital for children's (multilingual) language development. An Exploratory Factor Analysis yielded three valid and reliable scales that capture language policy from the perspective of early childhood professionals (N = 305) associated with infant welfare clinics in the Flemish Community of Belgium. Furthermore, a Confirmatory Factor Analysis indicated that the three components are ‘independent’ as well as ‘interconnected,’ thereby quantitatively corroborating Spolsky's theory. We conclude that language policy is no unitary concept; therefore, if one intends to study language policy holistically, the three indispensable components are to be identified. As a corollary, one simply cannot investigate management without considering beliefs and practices, and vice versa.