Empowerment Evaluation Research Articles

Determinantes sociais do uso de álcool na infância e adolescência em territórios rurais

Abstract This paper analyzes the social determinants of alcohol use in childhood and adolescence in rural areas. This qualitative study was carried out in a small municipality of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, with professionals from the psychosocial and intersectoral care network. Data were collected using the Empowerment Evaluation and analyzed by thematic analysis. The social determinants found show that alcohol use is a cultural aspect of the Pomeranian families and the religious rituals that mark the passage from youth to adulthood. In work-related aspects, alcohol use is a form of leisure in face of the responsibilities the youth assume in farming. Gender and violent situations also influence this factor: boys are encouraged to try alcohol, while girls are the biggest victims of physical aggression. Risk behaviors are observed in traffic accidents involving children and adolescents under alcohol the influence of alcohol. The social determinants broaden the scope of the topic, moving away from an exclusive conception of chemical and biological dependence to encompass multiple factors such as territories, cultures, work, and society.

Analysis of access to the psychosocial care network for users of alcohol and other drugs in rural areas.

To analyze the access to the Psychosocial Care Network for rural residents with problems related to alcohol abuse and other drugs. Qualitative research, based on the Empowerment Evaluation framework. Data collection took place from March to December 2017 and was carried out through triangulation of qualitative methods with 42 Psychosocial Care Network workers in a municipality in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Data analysis was performed by thematic analysis. The challenges of access are identified due to cultural issues and the lack of resources to structure the network in its connection with rural territories. Support strategies for access include articulation with other services through matrix support. The access to the network is precarious for prevention and continuity of care. It is suggested a greater articulation of the network with the rural teams and an investment in the structure of the network.

EVALUASI KEBIJAKAN PEMBERDAYAAN MASYARAKAT NELAYAN DI KECAMATAN TINAMBUNG KABUPATEN POLEWALI MANDAR

The program for the procurement of nylon gill net fishing gear is a form ofactivity carried out by the government in order to empower fishingcommunities in villages that are considered not yet prosperous. KaramaVillage and Tangnga- Tangnga Village are two coastal villages in TinambungSub-district that have been touched by the program for the procurement ofnylon-nylon fishing gear. This study aims to find a program for theprocurement of gill net fishing gear to empower fishermen in TinambungDistrict. The writing of empowerment evaluation theory by Howlet andRamesh is looking at the efforts made by the government, how the output of theefforts made, how the output evaluation with the objectives to be achieved, the effectiveness of the program, and the process of program formation. Theresearch method used is qualitative research. Data collection techniques usinginterviews, observation and documentation. The results of the study indicatethat the government's implementation of the nylon gill net fishing gearprocurement program has been running optimally. However, due to the limitedbudget, only fishermen who pass the lever get assistance.

Choosing an Evaluation Theory: A Supplement to Evaluation Roots (3rd Edition)

Background: Unlike scientific theories, evaluation theories are prescriptive: a set of actions and approaches that should be followed when conducting an evaluation. While evaluation theorists have offered a variety of writings describing their theories and approaches, few have offered a specific outline of what the theory looks like in practice. Thus, Alkin and Christie formulated a book to aid evaluators in how to apply theories in evaluations (Alkin & Christie, forthcoming). This book culminates in a series of prototypes that outline each theory’s goals, appropriate contexts, prescriptions, and observable actions in application.
 Purpose: In order to aid evaluators in applying theories, this article seeks to provide a basis for comparison that can be used to help evaluators select which theory would be most appropriate in their practice.
 Setting: This comparison can be applied in any setting where evaluations fit the context prescribed by each of the theories.
 Intervention: Not applicable.
 Research Design: Not applicablre.
 Data Collection and Analysis: Not applicable.
 Findings: In order for theories to influence practice effectively, theories must be displayed in a way that allows for easy comparison. This comparison of three theory prototypes demonstrates that prototypes can be an effective way for selecting a prescriptive theory when conducting an evaluation.
 Keywords: prescriptive theories; practice; empowerment evaluation; learning centered model; developmental evaluation

Evaluation approaches to empowering interventions

Empowerment has been a widespread term since the 1990s and is common in contexts as social work, community development, psychology, medicine, and several other areas of human development and health. Empowerment is a process during which a person, an organization, or a community is enabled to identify themselves, to recognize their own power positions and to improve their unequal social situations (Varga, 2017). The evaluation of empowerment outcomes has been missing from the Hungarian professional literature. This review article focuses on the empowerment of adults through educational theatre and drama, and is based on the analysis of previous research results in the area.
 Empowerment is a multi-level, context-dependent construct, hence, evaluating empowerment outcomes is challenging. Theorists of empowerment warn against creating a general instrument for measurement (Zimmerman, 1995). I reflect on quantitative, qualitative, and combined evaluation methods, such as the Psychological Empowerment Scale (Akey et al., 2000), the Empowerment Evaluation (Fetterman, 2001), and the Empowerment Measuring Tool (Jupp et al., 2010), also taking Wandersman and associates’ (2005) principles for empowerment evaluation into account.

DISASTER RESPONSE MOSQUE: A MOSQUE AS A CENTER FOR THE RESCUE OF THE UMMAH

AbstractDisaster events are almost impossible to predict accurately when, where and how big so that the preparedness of all elements of society in various regions is a basic need so that the impact of disaster risk can be minimized. The number of mosques in various parts of Indonesia, both institutionally and physically, is a strategic means as a center for saving people from disasters, so that they become interesting objects for research. This study aims to describe the strategic role of planning and designing mosques to reduce disaster risk. The results of this study indicate that planning and designing mosques to reduce disaster risk can be carried out through three stages as follows: (1) Pre-disaster stage through planning: mitigation programs (non-physical), infrastructure planning (physical), site selection, building planning and environment. (2) In the emergency response stage, the design of the mosque must be adaptive to readiness as an information post, volunteers and logistics, medical service facilities, refugee shelter facilities, refugee sanitation facilities, public kitchen facilities, and trauma healing facilities. (3) Post-disaster stage through metal/trauma healing rehabilitation, community economic empowerment program, evaluation, and capacity building to deal with disasters. Keywords: Disaster, Mitigation, Disaster Management, Disaster Response Mosque.

Improved Agricultural Innovations and Women’s Empowerment: Multidimensionality of Empowerment and Program Evaluation Approach

Modern Concepts & Developments in Agronomy Improved Agricultural Innovations and Women’s Empowerment: Multidimensionality of Empowerment and Program Evaluation Approach Tsegaye Mulugeta Habtewold* Department of Economics, College of Business and Economics, Arsi University, Assela, Ethiopia *Corresponding author:Tsegaye Mulugeta Habtewold, Department of Economics, College of Business and Economics, Arsi University, Assela, Ethiopiao Submission: May 24, 2021Published: June 22, 2021 DOI: 10.31031/MCDA.2021.09.000701 ISSN 2637-7659Volume9 Issue 1

A Latent Class Analysis of Gender Attitudes and Their Associations with Intimate Partner Violence and Mental Health in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Gender role attitudes, views held by individuals regarding the roles men and women should play in society, are a powerful social determinant of health. However, work remains in elucidating the associations between gender attitudes and intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration or victimization and mental health problems. We used latent class analysis to classify patterns of responses on survey items on gender attitudes by male and female adults in households that participated in an economic empowerment intervention and evaluation in rural villages in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Attitudes about IPV and gender equality were two subdomains to emerge from analysis and a 3-class model solution was found to best fit response patterns. Results indicated that, as compared to the least gender equitable class, individuals in the moderately gender equitable and fully gender equitable classes had lower odds of having experienced or perpetrated psychological abuse. Individuals within the moderately gender equitable class were at lower odds of having experienced or perpetrated physical or sexual violence. Further, individuals in the moderately gender equitable and fully gender equitable classes had significantly lower mean scores on symptoms associated with PTSD than individuals in the least gender equitable class. Future research should explore the relationships between gender attitudes, partner violence and mental health to build resilient families.

28160 Evaluation of women's empowerment in a community-based HPV self-sampling social entrepreneurship in Peru: Mixed-method study

ABSTRACT IMPACT: Understanding the women community leaders’ sense of relational and financial empowerment in the social entrepreneurship context will be key to developing a sustainable pathway to scale-up community-based HPV self-sampling programs in low resource settings. OBJECTIVES/GOALS: The Hope Project, a social entrepreneurship (SE) near Lima, Peru, trains women leaders (Hope Ladies) to promote human papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling in their communities. This study aims to evaluate the Hope Ladies’ own relational/financial empowerment after participating in the program. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: The Hope Ladies participated in semi-structured in-depth interviews (n= 9) and 8-question 5-point Likert-scale survey (n=16) that evaluated their relational/financial empowerment after participating in the social entrepreneurship. The interview and the survey questions were developed using validated empowerment frameworks, indicators, and theory, respectively: 1) Kabeer’s conceptual framework, 2) International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), and 3) Relational Leadership Theory (RLT). Direct content analysis was used to deductively evaluate the interviews with predetermined codes and categories of empowerment. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the survey results. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: All reported experiencing empowerment in the SE. Interviews: The codes were mapped onto 3 categories/9 sub-categories: 1) voicing confidence (willingness to challenge social/gender norms); 2) social resources (new skills, knowledge, self-efficacy, access to networks, role models); 3) financial gains (helpful but not the primary motivation to continue as Hope Ladies, and not enough to override traditional household roles/priorities). Survey: 75% indicated an increase in social contacts, confidence in discussing reproductive topics (75%), comfort with medical facilities (44%), ability to help the community (62.5%), and ability to make household purchasing decisions (36%) since joining the program. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF FINDINGS: The Hope Ladies’ experience in this SE demonstrated the complex relationship between various domains of empowerment (e.g., relational/financial). More studies are needed to elucidate the relationship between empowerment and worker retention/performance to inform scale-up of HPV self-sampling SE’s.

Ewaluacje konstruktywistyczne. Implikacje dla wczesnej edukacji

The aim of this paper is to analyze the possibilities of using evaluation models – developed within the constructivist paradigm – in early education. The author’s field of interest included responsive evaluation, dialogic evaluation, deliberative democratic evaluation, participatory evaluation, empowerment evaluation and stakeholder-based evaluation. Responsive and dialogical evaluation have been found to be particularly useful in early education. The scope of in-depth analyzes is aimed to present the specificity of responsive dialogical evaluations compared to other constructivist models and their distinctiveness from neoliberal evaluations and those subordinated to the gold standard ideology. The content of the second part of the paper is devoted to analyze the problems of designing, planning and conducting programs implemented in early education.

Developing a framework for youth empowerment to prevent smoking behavior in a rural setting: study protocol for a participatory action research

PurposeThere is limited research examining community-based youth empowerment that addresses smoking prevention in the rural Indonesian context. This paper describes participatory action research (PAR) applied to develop a framework for empowering youth aged 17–25 years toward smoking prevention. This research conducted in the Indonesian rural community setting was divided into four stages: diagnosing, planning action, taking action and evaluating action.Design/methodology/approachPAR was chosen as the approach to developing a framework for youth empowerment in smoking prevention programs. In this study, the PAR cycle started with a prestep stage through interviews with village heads, community leaders, youth organization organizers, observations of target resources and observations of participation in youth activities as well as forming teamwork with target participants. The diagnosis stage consists of three activities, that is, focus group discussions with youth groups of male and female, youth assessment of empowerment domains through the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) with the Empowerment Assessment Rating Scale (EARS) and measuring individual and group involvement levels related to the smoking behavior prevention program by questionnaire. The EARS assessment results were presented in the action planning stage, followed by a discussion on youth empowerment plans and strategies. In the action stage, activities and programs are planned according to the planning discussion, that is: training in healthy life skills (outbound and training) and initiating youth health programs without smoking called “Remaja Berdaya Sehat Tanpa Rokok” (Empowered Youth Healthy Without Smoking) or the JayaStar Program. After these community participation activities, the evaluating action stage will assess the empowerment domain in the youth groups, conduct focus group discussions with parents, evaluate the impact of empowerment on individual and group changes with a questionnaire and facilitate self-reflection by the youth community called Madiska.FindingsThis protocol describes a doctoral research project on developing a youth empowerment framework in smoking prevention programs through PAR. The intended study will provide valuable information on the planning, implementation and evaluation of youth empowerment in the prevention of smoking behavior.Originality/valueThis research project is expected to contribute to the literature relating to PAR for rural settings and the use of empowerment strategies to prevent youth smoking behavior. The results can be replicated in the same settings, but the process of empowerment must still be adapted to the characteristics and local wisdom of the community.

Toward a Regional Gerontological Agenda: The Use of Empowerment Evaluation

This article describes the application of an empowerment evaluation approach to nurturing the growth and priority setting of a regional organization. A model is provided of the processes whereby the Southern Gerontological Society (SGS) identified research and service priorities by conducting a survey of stakeholder perceptions of regional needs. The survey goal was to identify important issues faced by older adults in the South as a prelude to refining SGS research and service priorities and developing its contemporary regional gerontological agenda. We trace how the survey findings were translated into actions including shaping the annual meeting program, creating new standing committees, and developing service activities. Underlying the process of developing and refining this agenda are a set of key principles that have come to characterize the operation of SGS. These principles are discussed and provide a model for comparable organizations seeking to develop agendas consistent with their mission and identity.

English

This research focuses on synthesizing concepts and needs for the development of teachers' competencies and studying the performance in accordance with the development model of competencies for teachers of the Early Childhood Development Center with application of empowerment evaluation. The research was divided into 3 stages. In the first stage, the needs for the developments of teachers’ competencies were investigated. The informants were 274 teachers and 10 educators and directors of Division of Education Religious and Culture. The research instruments were questionnaire and interview form. In the second stage, the development model which was verified by 5 experts. In the third stage, the evaluation of performance in accordance with the development model of 30 teachers and 5 supporters and researchers was conducted. The research instruments were test, observation form, questionnaire, and interview form. The quantitative research used statistics to analyze for mean, standard deviation, t-test, and Modified Priority Need Index while the qualitative research used content analysis approach. The research findings revealed that teachers’ needs for functional competency development showing its priority need index from 0.336 to 0.416. In addition, the educators and the directors of Division of Education Religious and Culture showed their needs to develop teachers’ functional competencies. Moreover, the development model of competencies for teachers consisted of 6 components: Basic concepts and principles, objectives, expected outcomes, training activity content, training activity process, and evaluation. The teachers’ mean scores of post-training were higher than pre-training at statistical significance level of 0.01. Key words: Early Childhood Development Center, local administrative organization, competencies, empowerment.

Productive Struggle: How Community Coalitions Developed Capacity to Conduct Qualitative Research Through CBPR.

There is a lack of evidence as to how the subcomponents of motivation, innovation-specific capacity, and organizational capacity affect community readiness and the implementation of evidenced-based practices. The Strategic Prevention Framework-Partnerships for Success (SPF-PFS) Initiative in Ohio is guided by a collaboration between the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Ohio's SPF-PFS Evaluation Team, Ohio's Coaching and Mentoring Network, and community coalitions from 10 Appalachian and/or rural communities. To address the goals of the SPF-PFS, we paired an empowerment evaluation framework with a community-based participatory research approach that enabled communities to take complete ownership of local data and research processes. This approach yielded a pedagogical framework in which all 10 community coalitions were able to extend a quantitative needs assessment by examining local conditions contributing to substance use using qualitative research methods. Members of the coalitions became local leaders in conducting qualitative research, which, in turn, enhanced their organizational capacity. Our purpose is to communicate this successful strategy, along with some challenges we encountered, for developing innovation-specific capacity within the participating community coalitions to utilize qualitative research methods in order to obtain information about the local conditions affecting substance misuse. We describe how an empowerment evaluation framework, when paired with community-based participatory research, can also increase organizational capacity by supporting community coalitions as they successfully leveraged new skills related to strategic planning.

Enhancing the pedagogical practice of South African Physical Sciences teachers in inquiry-based teaching through empowerment evaluation

ABSTRACT Scientific inquiry has been advocated as a common curriculum goal in school science education in South Africa, and also throughout the world. In South Africa, the introduction of inquiry-based instruction in a reformed science curriculum has met with serious challenges, such as the under-preparedness of in-service teachers. The purpose of this study was to capture, portray and develop the pedagogical practice of Physical Sciences teachers in inquiry-based teaching using an empowerment evaluation approach. The study is a multiple case study in inquiry-based teaching of three Physical Sciences teachers in South Africa using a mixed methods design. Empowerment evaluation is the use of evaluation concepts, techniques, and findings to foster improvement and self-determination. Underlying an inquiry-based pedagogy is the assumption that science education is not merely about knowing-acquisition, but understanding how scientific knowledge is generated, evaluation of knowledge claims and conducting scientific research. Data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews, a pedagogical orientation instrument, and classroom observations. The findings reveal that through empowerment evaluation, teacher practices in the classroom shifted towards an inquiry-based approach. The empowerment evaluation approach thus offers a viable and sustained form of professional development that is likely to empower teachers in assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating what they do.

精神疾患をもつ人を地域で支える包括的ケア～より効果的な支援モデルを求める協働・共創アプローチの可能性～

精神疾患をもつ人を地域で支える包括的ケア～より効果的な支援モデルを求める協働・共創アプローチの可能性～

HASTA GÜÇLENDİRME VE YAŞAM KALİTESİ İLİŞKİSİ

Amaç: Bu çalışmada hasta güçlendirme ve yaşam kalitesi arasındaki ilişkinin ve hastaların yaşam kalitesini etkileyen faktörlerin belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır.Yöntem: Araştırmaya bir üniversite hastanesinde 5 Şubat-25 Mayıs 2018 tarihleri arasında dâhiliye, göğüs hastalıkları, kardiyoloji ve genel cerrahi birimlerinde poliklinik başvurusu yapan kronik hastalar dâhil edilmiştir. Astım, diyabet, kronik obstrüktif akciğer hastalığı (koah), tiroid ve kalp rahatsızlığı bulunan hastaların dâhil edildiği bu çalışmada Small (2012) tarafından geliştirilen, Kaya ve Işık (2018) tarafından Türkçe geçerlilik ve güvenilirliği yapılan hasta güçlendirme ölçeği kullanılmıştır. Hastaların yaşam kalitesi ise The Euro Qol Group tarafından geliştirilmiş olan EQ-5D 5L ölçeğinin Hollanda ağırlıkları ile uygulanması ile değerlendirilmiştir. Rastgele örnekleme yöntemi kullanılmıştır ve 515 hasta araştırmaya dâhil edilmiştir. Araştırmanın verileri SPSS 23 programı ile analiz edilmiştir. Bulgular: Uygulanan hasta güçlendirme ölçeğine ilişkin ortalama skor 130,18 olarak gerçekleşmiştir. Hasta güçlendirme ile yaşam kalitesi arasında orta düzeye yakın pozitif yönlü bir ilişki bulunmuştur. Ayrıca yaş grubu ve kronik hastalık türünün hasta güçlendirme ve yaşam kalitesi skoru üzerinde değişikliğe yol açtığı belirlenmiştir.Sonuç: Bu çalışmada hasta güçlendirme ile yaşam kalitesi arasında ilişki olduğu ve hasta güçlendirmenin yaşam kalitesini artırdığı sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Bu yüzden hastaların güçlendirilmesine yönelik uygulamalara önem verilmesi, hastanın tedavisine aktif katılımının sağlanması ve uygulanacak politikaların bu doğrultuda planlanması önerilmektedir.

Application of a Multisite Empowerment Evaluation Approach to Increase Evaluation Capacity Among HIV Services Providers: Results From Project Pride in Chicago

In 2015, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded Project PrIDE, a national initiative to implement and evaluate demonstration projects to increase PrEP uptake among HIV-negative individuals and to re-engage HIV-positive individuals in HIV care. Our team served as the Evaluation Center for Project PrIDE organizations in Chicago and used an empowerment evaluation (EE) approach to enhance evaluation capacity at these organizations. To evaluate our approach, we assessed organizations' evaluation capacity and engagement in technical assistance and capacity building activities in 2016 and 2018. Respondents who self-reported higher engagement with the Evaluation Center and who spent a greater number of hours engaged with our evaluators experienced greater increases in evaluation capacity tied to implementation of evaluation activities and technical assistance utilization. These findings demonstrate that multisite EE can be successfully applied to increase the evaluation capacity of organizations providing both HIV prevention and care services.

Local evaluation of the Tasmanian component of the National Suicide Prevention Trial—Preliminary learnings

Tasmania is one of the 12 Australian sites chosen to participate in the National Suicide Prevention Trial. The Centre for Rural Health, University of Tasmania, was contracted to conduct a local-level, process evaluation of this initiative using a Participatory Action Research approach, with the objective of this article to summarise progress and key learnings from the local evaluation to date. Empowerment and Utilisation-Focus Evaluation theoretical approaches informed the conduct of process evaluation activities, within an overarching participatory action research approach. Three participating regions in Tasmania were included as follows: Launceston, the North-West and Break O'Day. Working group members, service providers and other relevant stakeholders. Mixed-methods surveys, field observations and content analysis were conducted. Survey results indicated that most working group members understood the concept of a "systems-based" approach to suicide prevention. Most participants believed that working group structures/functions engaged community members with lived experience, while around half believed that these structures/functions facilitated relationships with local services and that working group action plans adequately addressed issues of capacity building and sustainability. Preliminary field data suggested that awareness raising, engagement and face-to-face capacity-building activities focused on the wider community were preferred to activities targeting specific populations. These preliminary findings suggest ambivalence among key stakeholders concerning the application of a systems-based approach to suicide prevention in regional areas of Tasmania. Consistent with a participatory action research approach, the findings will inform the evolution of trial site activity for the remainder of the trial and, in due course, the implementation of future such initiatives.

A Smartphone App for Self-Monitoring of Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease Activity to Assist Patient-Initiated Care: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

BackgroundTelemedicine based on self-measurement of disease activity could be one of the key components to create the health care system of the future. Previous publications in various medical fields have shown that it is possible to safely telemonitor patients while reducing the number of outpatient clinic visits. For this purpose, we developed a mobile phone app for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which allows them to self-monitor their disease.ObjectiveThe objective of this study is to assess the safety and efficacy of self-initiated care assisted by a smartphone app in patients with RA.MethodsThis is a randomized controlled trial that will be performed for 1 year. A total of 176 patients with RA will be randomized to either self-initiated care with only one scheduled follow-up consultation assisted by our app or usual care. The coprimary outcome measures are the number of outpatient clinic consultations with a rheumatologist taking place during the trial period and the mean disease activity score as measured by the disease activity score 28 (DAS28) at 12 months. The secondary outcomes are patient satisfaction, adherence, patient empowerment, and cost evaluation of health care assisted by the app.ResultsRecruitment started in May 2019, and up to 18 months will be required for completion of recruitment. Thus far, 78 patients have been randomized, and thus far, experiences with the app have been positive. The study results are expected to be published by the end of 2021.ConclusionsThe completion of this study will provide important data regarding the following: (1) safety of self-initiated care supported by a smartphone app in terms of DAS28 and (2) efficacy of lowering health care usage with this new strategy of providing health care.Trial RegistrationNetherlands Trial Register NL7715; https://www.trialregister.nl/trial/7715International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/15105