Empowerment Of People Research Articles

Real-Time View Assistance for the Blind using Image Processing

Visually impaired people usually have difficulty in doing daily activities. Imagine a future where visually impaired people can seamlessly and independently identify objects and people in their environment. The aim of this research is to increase the independence and mobility of visually impaired people by developing a real-time object and person recognition system. This system uses the power of machine learning and uses computer vision techniques to accurately identify and classify objects and people in the user's environment. Through the integration of speakers or headphones, the system provides auditory feedback to the user and conveys important information about the detected object or person. By combining advanced image processing algorithms with audio output, this solution serves as a valuable tool for visually impaired people, allowing them to effectively perceive and understand their surroundings. This innovative approach demonstrates the potential of technology to bridge access gaps and empower people with visual impairments in their daily lives.

Developing an Online Health Community Platform for Facilitating Empowerment in Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

This study aimed to develop an online health community platform for facilitating the empowerment of people with chronic diseases dwelling in the community regarding disease prevention and health promotion. The user-centered design approach included four main steps: (1) identifying the health problems and needs of target users, (2) developing the content of the platform, (3) constructing the platform, and (4) pilot testing, refinement, and finalization. An online health community platform available both in a mobile application and a Web-enabled application has been launched to facilitate empowerment and self-management by people with chronic conditions. The main components of the application comprised (1) screening for chronic diseases and health problems, (2) setting personal goals for health promotion and action planning to achieve the goals themselves, (3) offering an online health community with shared group goals that help users engage with their peers to attain their goals, and (4) creating one's own online health community and inviting others to participate. The platform has the potential to encourage people with chronic conditions to proactively engage in their own health promotion. Future studies are needed to determine the impact of the application on self-management and empowerment for its users.

Digitisation, health literacy and health empowerment of older people

Digitisation, health literacy and health empowerment of older people

Empower-PD: Development of A Self- Management Program in Empowering People with Parkinson’s Disease - A Qualitative Study Using A Co-Creation Framework

Empower-PD: Development of A Self- Management Program in Empowering People with Parkinson’s Disease - A Qualitative Study Using A Co-Creation Framework

DETEK-AI: A Web-based Deepfake Detection System

AI-driven deepfake bots pose a serious risk to society, security, and trust, which necessitates the development of reliable techniques to detect and mitigate their threat, as their proliferation leads to disinformation, deceit, and harm. Deepfake detection systems can improve cybersecurity, safeguard digital identities, mitigate misinformation, protect reputations of individuals and organizations, assure ethical use of AI technology, empower people and organizations, support regulatory efforts, and contribute to a safer digital ecosystem. Detek AI is a frontrunner in innovative technology aimed at combating deepfake content, safeguarding individuals and organizations from misinformation, and upholding the integrity of online platforms. Keyword— Deepfake Technology, Deepfake Detection, Convolutional Neural Networks, Artificial Intelligence bots, Machine Learning Artificial Intelligence, Face Morphing Detection, Deep Learning, Benford’s Law.

The sustainability of group empowerment and training for people with diabetes in South Africa.

Group empowerment and training (GREAT) for people with type 2 diabetes enables self-management and lifestyle modification. GREAT for diabetes was implemented in primary care facilities in five South African provinces in the beginning of 2022. The aim was to evaluate implementation and to particularly explore factors that influenced the sustainability of implementation. An exploratory, descriptive qualitative study conducted semi-structured individual interviews with 17 key stakeholders at the end of 2023. Interviews explored factors within a theory of change framework derived from an initial evaluation in 2022. Data were analysed using the framework method and ATLAS.ti. Implementation and scale-up was sustained in the Western Cape. Governance and financing at a provincial and district level were key to health system structures. Space, staffing, resource materials and monitoring of implementation were key to the inputs. Facility managers, training and performance of facilitators, including the whole team, selecting patients, patient flow and appointments, stakeholder support and clinical governance were key to service delivery. Facilities that had implemented, reported reaching 300 patients per year. A range of motivational, behavioural and clinical outcomes were reported. Future implementation could include community health workers and group empowerment for insulin initiation. Implementation and scale-up was only sustained in one province and a range of factors related to sustained implementation were identified.Contribution:The factors identified can guide the successful implementation and scale-up of GREAT for diabetes in South Africa.

Implementation of a virtual community of practice to promote the empowerment of middle-aged people with multimorbidity: study protocol of a randomised controlled trial

IntroductionEmpowering people living with multimorbidity (multiple chronic conditions) to gain greater confidence in managing their health can enhance their quality of life. Education focused on self-management is a key tool...

Conflicts and the dilemma of media intervention: An educational information management perspective

Conflicts are inevitable in any human community, despite the fact that they are never desirable. One of the characteristics of the contemporary world is conflict. Different parties participate in disputes (individuals, organizations, and states). When disputes arise, interventionist methods are put into action. Conflicts arise in a variety of ways, such as disagreement, rage, quarrelling, hatred, destruction, killing, or war, because human requirements are diverse. Conflict takes many different shapes, and so do interventions. Individuals, groups (both local and foreign), and governments can all intervene in a conflict. The media and its functions are up for debate among those who mediate disputes. Can the media be seen as intervening in a dispute, or are they merely performing their mandated duties? The diversity of opinions is what drives conversations in peace journalism. In addition, peace journalism promotes media engagement and intervention in conflict situations in order to lessen and end conflict. Media intervention, according to some critics, is not objective journalism because those in charge of educational information management and journalists are not expected to make decisions about the news; rather, they should just tell it as they see it. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to examine the idea of conflict, the stages of conflict development, interventions in conflicts, and the contentious position of the media in conflicts from an educational information management perspective. Hence, this paper will contribute to the role of educational information management via social media and other new media platforms, which have occasionally been used to hold governments responsible, unite people in protest of violence, plan relief operations, empower people, dissipate tensions via knowledge sharing, and create understanding across boundaries.

Social disabling: A qualitative study of interpersonal interaction patterns of shiduers in China

The experience of shidu (i.e., losing one’s only child) completely changes the lives and social interaction patterns of people. However, current research findings on interpersonal interactions of individuals who are experiencing shidu (referred to as “shiduers”) are inconsistent, reducing the effectiveness of support programs. Therefore, a qualitative analysis was conducted on the interpersonal interaction process of shiduers using the classic grounded theory. The results showed that “shidu” as an interpersonal information has two contradictory attributes, “family shame” and “family routine,” which create a social disabling dilemma for shiduers. Shiduers can reset their interpersonal relationships by establishing a clear inner and outer circle of relationships (centralizing) and by sequencing and typing relationships (differentiating). The interpersonal interactions of shiduers are complex and depend on the type of relationship. The current results can help community workers target individual support, family empowerment, and community building for people experiencing shidu.

Empowerment of individuals in Iranian health systems: a qualitative study using the Z-cognitive map approach

The empowerment of people is considered as one of the most effective approaches in national healthcare systems. Identifying the effective criteria for this empowerment approach can be useful for planning enhancements. Therefore, studying and researching different aspects of people empowerment, and identifying the various relationships among related factors are of great importance. In this study – after identifying and extracting the effective factors in empowering individuals/insured persons, and interviewing health insurance and healthcare experts through content analysis – a causal model examining variables and their impact intensity through cognitive mapping is designed and drawn up. In modeling the concept of empowerment, to cover the ambiguity of expert comments, a combination of the Z-number approach with cognitive mapping has been used. Results demonstrate how various factors relate to insured empowerment. According to the results of empowerment strategies, the insurance participation strategy with the highest central index was determined as the most effective strategy, and the appropriate component for individuals gained the highest score in the centrality index. The results of this article help a lot to policy making in medical insurance.

Patients’ recommendations to improve help-seeking for vaginismus: a qualitative study

BackgroundResearch to improve healthcare experiences for women with vaginismus tends to be produced from the perspective of healthcare professionals or health-based researchers. There is lacking research on women’s experiences and recommendations to improve help-seeking for vaginismus from their perspective. To address this research gap, this qualitative study aimed to identify the issues that women face when help-seeking for vaginismus and their recommendations to address it. This sought to support the wellbeing of patients to advocate for their healthcare needs which is often overlooked.MethodsUsing a feminist theoretical approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 participants who sought help for their vaginismus. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse participants’ recommendations.ResultsFour main themes emerged: Increase awareness of vaginismus, Dismantle myths about sex, Destigmatise vaginismus, and Empower people with vaginismus during medical consultations. Subthemes were identified as actionable strategies that participants recommended to improve help-seeking and healthcare for vaginismus.ConclusionsThe findings from this study can inform healthcare practice and policy to foster better synchronicity between health professionals and their patients’ perceptions and expectations of treating vaginismus. This can promote more acceptance of patients’ advocacy of their needs and goals to improve the therapeutic alliance and treatment outcomes for vaginismus in healthcare practice. The strategies recommended to increase awareness of vaginismus and challenge its stigma should be considered in policy to incite a culture of change in healthcare practice and broader society.

Empowerment of transgender people through intervention and food skill training

Gender is a term that is used when referring to social, cultural, and psychological characteristics that affect and pertain to stereotypes, norms, traits, and roles of men and women “Gender diversity exists in every culture and geographic context. Transgender people are people whose gender identity is different from the gender they were thought to be at birth. "Trans" is often used as a shorthand for transgender. Transgender is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity or gender expression differs from the sex they were designed at birth. Aim and Objectives: To empower the transgender through intervention and food processing training. To collect the socio-demographic profile of the transgender population. To provide the entrepreneurship skill training on food processing. To provide the intervention on reproductive health. Materials and Methods: In this study, 100 transgender persons were selected by a random method. Variables including age, anthropometric factors, food habits were recorded for each case. The socio-demographic variables, anthropometric, clinical assessment, dietary pattern, and associated factors of transgender are evaluated using an appropriate questionnaire. Statistical comparison of means among different groups was performed using SPSS version 17.0. Before and after without control design was adopted for this study, such as design a single test group or area is selected and the dependent variable is measured before the introduction of the treatment. The treatment is then introduced and the dependent variable is measured again after the treatment has been introduced. And provide skill training on food processing-malted foods, Vegetable preservation, and processing, Bakery products development. Results: There were significant differences in anthropometric factors including height, weight, and BMI among the literacy levels (p<0.01). And acquired knowledge on food processing skills, trained to prepare various food products, empowered to start self-employment, Improvement of transgender population living standard.

Empowerment of Togong-Tanga indigenous people through the development of apiculture-based conservation villages

The Kokolomboi Lestari Program (ProKlim) is a community empowerment initiative aimed at empowering the Togong-Tanga Indigenous Peoples in Central Sulawesi Province. It focuses on developing sustainable apiculture systems in Leme-Leme Darat Village, aiming to increase forest resource productivity and improve ecosystems and habitats for endemic animals. The program provides employment opportunities and income from forest bee management and environmental services. A study found that solid waste treatment from PT Pertamina EP Donggi Matindok Field operations contributes to global warming potential (GWP), with CO2, N2O, and CH4 emissions being major contributors. The program also uses non-B3 waste from fire truck tires as a conservation medium, and biosulfur slury as fertilizer for agricultural activities. This program has achieved sustainability goals, improving social life, economic and environmental standards, and strengthening the economy of indigenous peoples.

Community Participation in Community Secondary School Construction Projects in Kibaha District Council, Tanzania

The centrality of participatory practices in recording development objectives is widely acknowledged. However, limited information exists on the factors that motivate community participation in the construction of community secondary schools. This article mends the said gap by exploring the factors that motivate community participation in community secondary school construction in Kibaha, Tanzania. The study utilised a descriptive research design, garnering primary data through 118 household surveys and 2 key informant interviews. The study also collected data through documentary reviews meant to triangulate the data gathered through interviews to deepen discussions and check primary data. Quantitative data analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics software with simple frequency analyses presented in tables and discussed descriptively. Atlas ti was used to process qualitative data that eventually underwent content analysis and descriptive discussion. The study unveils that community participation in community secondary school construction is positively impacted by accumulated knowledge on participation, community secondary school benefits, transparency on income and expenditure, quality leadership, decentralisation of decision-making at low levels of governance, and local people empowerment. Conversely, the absence of these motivating factors has negative motivational effects on community participation in such projects. Hence, it is imperative to make concerted efforts to reinforce the positive motivational factors. These efforts should include enhancing community awareness of participation, empowering community members to actively participate, fostering a culture of good governance, particularly in matters of financial transparency, and involving the community in decision-making throughout the implementation of development projects. Furthermore, clear explanations of the benefits accruing to communities from the construction of community secondary schools are essential.

Building a Foundation for Health: A Review of Healthy Lifestyle Knowledge Among Indonesian Cleaning Workers in the Malaysian Cleaning Services Industry

Introduction: The global economy is affected by Indonesian migrant workers' destinations in Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Poor housing and cleanliness make it hard for Indonesian workers, especially cleaning service workers, to stay healthy. Employees in the cleaning service business may not understand how to manage their health or navigate the healthcare system due to health literacy issues. Indonesian workers in Malaysia are assessed for workplace health literacy and empowerment. Addressing these issues and improving health literacy can enhance public health, eliminate health inequities, and empower people to make health decisions. Methods: The cross-sectional accidental sampling study involves 23 Indonesian workers from a prominent Malaysian university. All Indonesian workers were given a full explanation of the 15-question healthy living questionnaire. Results: 47.9% of migrant workers had sufficient knowledge, 39.1% had poor knowledge, and 13% had good knowledge. Conclusion: Poor personal hygiene affects Indonesian workers in Malaysia, focusing on workplace health knowledge and empowerment. It stresses health literacy, especially for the poor. To improve public health, reduce health inequities, and empower people to make health decisions, these concerns and health literacy initiatives are crucial.

The scope of empowerment for conservation and communities.

Conservationists increasingly position conservation that is mutually beneficial to people and biodiversity on the promise of empowerment of people through participatory discourse, metrics, processes, and outcomes. Empowerment represents multidimensional concepts and theories that permeate the interlinking levels of power, from the psychological to the political, and social scales in which conservation operates. The multifaceted nature of empowerment makes it challenging to understand, pursue, and evaluate as a central philosophical commitment and goal-oriented practice in conservation. Moreover, definitional and methodological uncertainty may disempower interested and affected groups because they can foster conceptual assumptions that reinforce institutionalized barriers to systemic changes. Despite these complexities, there are no targeted reviews of empowerment in conservation. We conducted a scoping review of the conservation literature to synthesize the meanings and uses of empowerment in the field. We reviewed 121 of the most cited conservation articles that invoked or assessed empowerment from 1992 to 2017 to document geographic, conceptual, and methodological trends in the scales and theories of empowerment deployed by conservationists. Research claiming or assessing empowerment through conservation often focused on communities in the Global South. Most studies relied on qualitative and mixed methods (78%) collected largely from male or non-Indigenous participants. Few studies (30%) defined the 20 types of empowerment they referenced. Fewer studies (3%) applied empowerment theories in their work. Our findings show that empowerment discourse of local and Indigenous communities permeates the discourse of people-centered conservation. Yet, overreliance on empowerment's rhetorical promise and minimal engagement with theory (e.g., postcolonial theory) risks disempowering people by obscuring empowerment's foundational value to conservation and communities and oversimplifying the complex realities of people-centered conservation. Lasting change could come from more meaningful engagement with empowerment, including coproducing definitions and measures with and for disempowered social groups to tackle widespread power disparities in conservation today.

Community Extension Programs Valuation as Basis in Proposing Higher Education Institutions as the Donation Program Facility Operating Partners

Establishing the centralized donation program facilities proposes the cooperation of selected higher education institutions per city or municipality where the facility will be located. The Commission on Higher Education’s directive to conduct community extension programs as part of the four-fold functions is an important role of a higher education institution to include communities to serve and help alleviate the standard of living. Community extension service is about relationships and community building through different related programs where activities are aimed at empowering people through long-term programming. The community extension programs of an HEI allow educational programs to reach and “touch the lives” of communities and the environment by providing services that transmit knowledge and technologies to have an impact on holistic and sustainable development programs and people empowerment. This study was conducted to provide a basis to justify the partnership between the educational institution, local government unit, and the proposed donation facility. The study used the Logic Model which is a visual representation of the relationship between a program’s resources, actions, and expected outcomes in assessing the community extension programs of selected higher education institutions. Logic models demonstrate how interventions affect behavior and achieve a goal straightforwardly and succinctly. The Logic Model was a road map outlining causal pathways and the step-by-step relationship between planned activity and desired outcomes. A logic model, in particular, is a visual representation of the resources or inputs required to perform a program, the activities and outputs of a program, and the expected program outcomes. Using the model, the researcher began with the inputs and actions and worked forward. Before starting the process, a clear and complete understanding of the specific research objective was addressed including the analysis of the existing data and pertinent research, as well as performing a formal or informal assessment of available capacity, inputs, and needs was conducted. This used indicators such as the resources required to carry out the activities (inputs), what to do with the resources (activities), tangible items and capabilities (outputs), changes in other individuals or conditions as a result of the activities and outputs (outcomes), distant results (effects) and contextual elements that are outside the program’s control but may aid or impede the achievement of the outcomes. Keywords: Logic model, community extension programs, higher education institution extension progra

Project EPIC (Empowering People to Independence in COPD): Study protocol for a hybrid effectiveness-implementation pilot randomized controlled trial of telephonic, geriatrics-palliative care nurse-coaching in older adults with COPD and their family caregivers

BackgroundEPIC (Empowering People to Independence in COPD) is a geriatric-palliative care telephonic, nurse coach intervention informed by Baltes' Theory of Successful Aging and adapted from the ENABLE (Educate, Nurture, Advise, Before Life Ends) intervention. EPIC, focused on improving independence, mobility, well-being, and COPD symptoms, has undergone formative and summative evaluation for adults with COPD. MethodsThe primary study aim is to assess the refined EPIC intervention's feasibility and acceptability via a pilot hybrid effectiveness-implementation randomized control trial in community-dwelling older adults with moderate to severe COPD and their family caregivers. The secondary aim is to explore the impact of EPIC on patient and caregiver outcomes. Older adults with COPD and their family caregivers (target N = 60 dyads) will be randomized to EPIC (intervention) or usual COPD care (control). EPIC includes six patient and four family caregiver weekly, telephone-based nurse coach sessions using a manualized curriculum (Charting Your Course), plus three monthly follow-up calls. Feasibility will be measured as completion of EPIC intervention and trial components (e.g., recruitment, retention, data collection). Acceptability will be evaluated using satisfaction surveys and post-study feedback interviews. A blinded data collector will assess exploratory outcomes (e.g., Life-Space mobility, quality of life, caregiver burden, emotional symptoms, loneliness, cognitive impairment, functional status, healthcare utilization) at baseline, 12, and 24 weeks. DiscussionThis intervention fills a gap in addressing the geriatrics and palliative care needs and equity for adults with COPD and their family caregivers.Trial registration:ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05040386

Participation 3.0 in the implementation of the energy transition-Components and effectiveness of an interactive dialogue tool (Vision:En 2040).

The allocation of renewable energy plants, especially wind turbines, is stagnating in Germany. Although the citizens approve of the energy transition, they resist concrete local projects. In recent years, research has shown that interactive map applications support participatory planning through motivation, social interaction, and knowledge transfer. We aim to reduce biases against renewable energy (RE) and support informed decision making while accepting local responsibility. We hypothesized that finding a new gamified participation format, based on behavioral mechanisms, would strengthen the empowerment of people. To this end, we designed a dialogue tool and participation format, 'Vision:En 2040', which combines: (i) a precise target electricity yield, (ii) an interactive map showing results of people's actions, information about environmental impacts, and (iii) game rules which foster cooperation. In facilitated workshops, participants simulate the allocation of wind and photovoltaic power plants in their municipality to achieve a target electricity yield. The developed tool is based on methods of environmental planning and geoinformatics. 'Vision:En 2040' was systematically tested with a technical test and a pre-test. In addition, its impact on participants was assessed through surveys and qualitative content analysis. The evaluation results show that the tool can influence the acceptance of the energy transition in terms of attitude. Through 'Vision:En 2040', participants became aware of the community's responsibility in the energy transition and expanded their knowledge. In addition, decision makers used the workshop results to plan RE sites. Our results indicate that 'Vision:En 2040' is helpful for informal citizen participation in accelerating the energy transition.

Health educational strategies for people living with HIV: scoping review

Objective: To map the scientific production on educational strategies and the content covered in the education of people living with HIV. Methods: This is a scoping review in which the selection of articles was carried out in April 2021 and updated in October 2022 in ten data sources; the review followed the assumptions established by the Joanna Briggs Institute and the checklist of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. The results were descriptively analyzed and summarized in a chart. Results: A total of 17 studies were selected, predominantly published in 2017; The USA and Brazil were the countries with the largest number of productions. Most studies sought to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of strategies and develop or validate health education instruments and prevention activities. Concerning the content covered by the strategies, five categories were formed: initial guidance on HIV/AIDS, general care, healthy living, sexual health, and emotional support. The educational strategies that stood out concerning greater patient adherence to treatment are related to the development of systems, programs, and multimedia. The booklets promoted empowerment and autonomy for people living with HIV. Conclusion: The main educational strategies were mapped, with emphasis on booklets, printed material, multimedia resources, systems, forms, and workshops, covering initial guidance on HIV/AIDS, pharmacological treatment, general care, healthy living, sexual health, and social and emotional support.