Tool For Empowerment Research Articles

Financial Inclusion and Farmers: Association between Status and Demographic Variables

Financial inclusion is an excellent tool for empowerment of farmers. The current study examines the level of financial inclusion and study the association between various demographical variables and financial inclusion among the farmers. A survey of 360 farmers across Prayagraj district was conducted, this survey found that 71.4% of farmers had his bank accounts while 23.6% of farmers were actively using their bank accounts in past 3 months and only 10.6 % of farmers were taken loan from banks or other formal financial institutions. The survey shows that farmers were financially inclusion: as 72.8% have poor financial inclusion, 19.2% have fair financial inclusion, and only 8.1% have sound financial inclusion. The farmers had not sufficient financial literacy. Further analysis shows that gender is not associated with degree of financial inclusion while other demographic variables i.e. education qualification, family income, age group and size of landholding is closely associated with degree of financial inclusion.

Universal Rights or Everyday Necessities?

Polish opposition against the state-socialist government emerged out of the political engagement of predominantly left-leaning intellectuals with repressed workers in the 1970s. In their writings, these intellectuals addressed not only workers in the country, but also Western European left-wing intellectuals and politicians. Based on an analysis of relevant samizdat publications, this article shows how Polish intellectuals modified their rhetorical strategies depending on their audience. It thus challenges the monothematic focus on an internationally salient human rights language as the main tool for political empowerment during the 1970s. Whereas the universalizing human rights discourse presented repression and the lack of democratic labor structures negatively, the inner Polish debate between intellectuals and workers initially framed these issues as basic necessities deduced from tangible problems. It was only after two years of organizational work that the Warsaw-based Workers’ Defense Committee, in their “Charter of Workers’ Rights” (1979), depicted repression as a violation of human and labor rights. The rhetoric changed so drastically because the Charter addressed not only workers, but also different target groups on an international and national level. Even so, a singularizing narrative of repression made more sense in the context of Polish labor protests than the adoption of a universalizing human rights language.

Improving Access to Healthcare for Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease Patients and Their Families

Introduction Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a severe inherited red blood cell disorder with high morbidity requiring integrated comprehensive care. There are not many chronic diseases that primarily affect those from an often impoverished, minority background. Care delivery is complicated by disparities in healthcare regarding access. Cultural mismatches between providers and families also play a role. Healthcare access can be defined as the degree of fit between patients and the healthcare system (1, 2), and is described by four overlapping dimensions: physical accessibility, affordability, information accessibility and non-discrimination (3, 4). This qualitative study focuses on the challenges regarding the right to healthcare for children and adolescents with SCD and their families. The aims of this study were to (a) map the various perspectives and initiatives of SCD healthcare professionals, while focusing on existing best practices and lessons learned and (b) to provide practical recommendations relevant for high-income countries to improve accessibility of healthcare in SCD. Methods This qualitative study consisted of semi-structured, in-depth interviews which were conducted from February 1st to May 1st 2019 with SCD healthcare professionals, including (pediatric) hematologists, nurses, and psychosocial staff. Participants were affiliated with the SCORE (Sickle Cell Outcome REsearch) consortium which includes all SCD comprehensive care centers in the Netherlands (Fig 1). We identified eligible participants within SCORE and recruited participants using a combination of maximum variation and snowball sampling. Interviews occurred privately and were audio-recorded. The audio-recordings were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using the NVivoâ qualitative analysis software. Results Twenty-four healthcare professionals from different clinical sites participated in the study (Fig 1). Transcripts were coded into the four dimensions of health care access. Content analyses of the four dimensions in turn, revealed seven themes associated with best practices on topics related to improving accessibility of health care for children and adolescent SCD patients and their families (Fig 2). These themes included: 1) Cutting invisible costs: addressing the financial burden of a child with SCD; 2) Same-day appointments: reducing the amount of hospital visits; 3) Specialized and shared care: bridging the gap; 4) Optimizing methods of verbal and written communication: enabling mutual understanding between patients and healthcare professionals; 5) Building strong digital connections: improving the use of e-health while watching out for pitfalls; 6) Tools for patient empowerment and resilience: being aware of (self) stigmatization; and 7) Changing society: towards compassion and public awareness. Discussion The United Nations Convention on The Rights of the Child is the most widely signed and ratified human rights treaty and safeguards the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health. This right must be interpreted broadly, paying attention to all factors that may affect the realization of this right (5). Equity of access to healthcare for all patient populations requires the appreciation of intersecting vulnerabilities. This qualitative study provides best practices and solution-based recommendations from a grassroots-level to improve access to healthcare for children and adolescents with SCD and their families. Healthcare professionals experience a unique combination of intersecting vulnerabilities that characterize SCD patients and hampers their overall access to necessary healthcare. The seven key recommendations address these obstacles across all four dimensions of accessibility. Holistic implementation would positively impact the access to the highest attainable standard of healthcare for pediatric SCD patients and their families. These recommendations are built on local best practices that deserve wider implementation. They are especially relevant in the organization of SCD care, but all physicians will recognize these experiences with regard to healthcare in vulnerable patient populations in general. Disclosures Cnossen: Pfizer: Other: Travel Grants, Research Funding; Bayer: Other: Travel Grants, Research Funding; Novo Nordisk: Research Funding; Nordic Pharma: Research Funding; CSL Behring: Other: Travel Grants, Research Funding; Sobi: Research Funding; Baxter: Other: Travel Grants, Research Funding; Shire: Other: Travel Grants, Research Funding; Takeda: Other: Travel Grants, Research Funding; Roche: Other: Travel Grants; NWO: Other: Governmental grants , ZonMW, Innovation fund and Nationale Wetenschapsagenda 2018.

EPID-15. GUIDELINES FOR THE OPTIMAL USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR NEURO-ONCOLOGISTS

Abstract BACKGROUND Approximately 80,000 new Americans are diagnosed with a brain tumor annually. Social media (SM) has emerged as a powerful tool for patient empowerment. Its effective utilization by healthcare professionals is vital for better connection to patients and dissemination of evidence-based information. OBJECTIVES: To develop guidelines for optimal utilization of SM by neuro-oncologists, through a review of user engagement with content posted on SM relating to brain tumors. METHODS Facebook (FB) and Twitter (TW) were searched using the term Brain Tumor. Page/account information such as user type, media (image/video) utilization in posts, and audience size (likes / followers) were recorded. Average activity and account annual growth (AAG) were calculated. Top qualitative themes were assigned. Correlations were assessed with Pearson’s test. RESULTS FB was predominantly used by organizations (64% of accounts) and provided a larger audience (67 pages,581 likes) than TW (25 accounts, 67,295 followers), which had similar proportion of personal (44%) and organizational accounts (52%). Charity & Fundraising (67%) was the top FB theme. Education & Research (72%) was the top TW theme. In FB, the page’s annual growth (PAG) was not related to rate of monthly posting or the length of activity on FB, but presence on other concurrent platforms (Rho: 0.59) was influential for PAG and audience size (p < 0.05). In TW, quantity of monthly tweets (Rho: 0.66) and media utilization (Rho: 0.78) significantly correlated with audience size and AAG (p-values < 0.05). CONCLUSION A multi-platform SM presence and use of relatable images/videos have a strong impact on both FB and TW engagement. FB is a stronger platform for organizations valuable for charity and fundraising. Multi-platform presence is more important than frequent posts on FB. TW is equally used by organizations and individuals, serving as an excellent medium for dissemination of research and educational material.

Quality improvement project assessing effect on diabetes control from the introduction of an empowerment tool to facilitate insulin self adjustment

Quality improvement project assessing effect on diabetes control from the introduction of an empowerment tool to facilitate insulin self adjustment

Microfinance as poverty-shame debt

In an excellent anthropological study of microfinance in Bangladesh, Karim (2008: xviii) argues that it operates as ‘an economy of shame’. That is to say, microfinance is not the benign tool for financial inclusion and empowerment that mainstream development organisations proclaim. Rather, it unintentionally (perhaps) but nevertheless actively deploys shaming techniques in order to maximise loan repayment rates. Karim, however, does not employ an explicit analysis of shame; instead she emphasises its disciplining power for rural women in Bangladesh. Our article builds on this insight but applies a specific psychosocial approach to shame that critically examines a number of the emotion’s harmful practices and outcomes, especially when deployed within microfinance practice. It highlights that microfinance personalises and socialises people’s debt relations, making them a matter for group concern, but that at the same time money-debt’s impersonalising nature results in coercive and disciplinary actions that would otherwise be seen as intolerable. We demonstrate how the active shaming of microfinance participants all too often degenerates into human rights abuses, including violence. The shame of debt and the active shaming that facilitates microfinance’s high repayment rates harms the psychosocial wellbeing of those being shamed as well as their families, and can be linked to a range of concerning outcomes including self-harm and suicide. To conclude, we explore whether the coercion by shame and shaming of microfinance may be linked to its growing use in other areas of development programming.

The four facets of self-collection service for e-commerce delivery: Conceptualisation and latent class analysis of user segments

Abstract With the rapid growth of e-commerce and technology-based self-services, consumers are increasingly encouraged to co-create individualised self-collection services. This study aims to conceptualise the multiple key facets of self-collection as viewed from consumers' perspectives and identify the latent consumer segments of the service. A total of 603 valid responses are collected, and the data are analysed using the latent class analysis. Adopting the paradigm of value co-creation, we conceptualised the self-collection service as service innovation, an empowerment tool, a green initiative and a value-based experience. Based on the conceptualisation, five latent segments of the service are identified, which are labelled as Patrons, Traditionalists, Self-enhancers, Green-lovers and Haters (from the largest to the smallest segment). By doing this, this study contributes to the literature by demonstrating the heterogeneity in consumers' participation patterns of value co-creation in e-commerce last-mile logistics.

1192. A Visual Family Empowerment Tool Is Associated with Increased Healthcare Worker Hand Hygiene in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in Vietnam

BackgroundHand hygiene (HH) is the most effective way to prevent healthcare-associated infections. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends empowering patients and families to remind healthcare workers (HCWs) to perform HH. The effectiveness of patient and family empowerment tools in Southeast Asia is unknown.MethodsWe performed a prospective intervention study in an intensive care unit of a pediatric referral hospital in Vietnam. Using family and HCW input, we created a visual tool for families to use to remind HCWs to perform HH. For 2 weeks pre-intervention, we collected baseline data on HH performance, method (hand rub or soap and water), adequacy, HCW type (e.g., physician, nurse), and WHO 5 moments of HH using direct, unobtrusive observation. During a subsequent 3-week intervention period, consenting families were provided the visual tool and educated on its use to prompt HCW HH. Prospective collection of outcome data continued during the intervention period. The primary outcome was change in HCW HH between baseline and intervention periods. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify independent predictors of HH.ResultsA total of 2,014 pre-intervention and 2,498 intervention period HH opportunities were observed. During the intervention period, 73 families received visual reminder tools and education. Overall HCW HH was 46% pre-intervention, which increased to 73% in the intervention period (P < 0.001). Lowest HH adherence in both periods occurred after HCW contact with patient surroundings (WHO Moment 5; 16% pre-intervention and 24% intervention). In multivariable analyses, the odds of HCW HH during the intervention period were significantly higher than pre-intervention (OR 2.94 [95% CI 2.54 – 3.41], P < 0.001) after adjusting for observation room, HCW type, time of observation (weekday business hours vs. evening/weekend), and HH moment. Among completed HH opportunities, HH adequacy was >90% in both periods.ConclusionIntroduction of a visual empowerment tool was associated with significant improvement in HH adherence among HCWs in a Vietnamese pediatric intensive care unit. More research is needed to explore acceptability and barriers to the use of such tools in other low- and middle-income settings. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

Extension-Led Training for Human Services Providers on Use of a Financial Empowerment Tool

Extension-Led Training for Human Services Providers on Use of a Financial Empowerment Tool

Improving epilepsy management with EpSMon: A Templar to highlight the multifaceted challenges of incorporating digital technologies into routine clinical practice

The digital epilepsy self-monitor (EpSMon) app was developed to address the challenge of improving risk education and management in the UK. The tool, which has emerged out of quality improvement methodology, demonstrates efficacy and has been met with peer-reviewed support and international awards. The focus of this paper is about the development and integration into care of a digital self-assessment epilepsy risk empowerment tool into the UK health system. This paper provides detail into the specific challenges of incorporating a digital epilepsy intervention into routine clinical practice. Despite a strong narrative and evidence, the engagement of commissioners, clinicians, and people with epilepsy is slow. A breakdown of the strategies used, the current governance landscape, and emerging opportunities to develop an informed implementation strategy is provided to support others who seek to create impact with digital solutions for people with epilepsy.This paper is for the Special Issue: Prevent 21: SUDEP Summit - Time to Listen".

Breastfeeding apps: Tool of empowerment, or just a hi-tech diary?

Breastfeeding apps: Tool of empowerment, or just a hi-tech diary?

Collaborative Mapping and Digital Participation: A Tool for Local Empowerment in Developing Countries

There has been an enormous technological boom that impacted all areas of geoscience in the past few decades. Part of the change was also the process of democratization of cartography as well as geographic information systems (GIS), together with new approaches that have emerged, bringing social dimension into cartography and GIS. These new approaches were variously labelled as critical cartography, collaborative mapping, digital citizenship, Bottom-up GIS and Participatory GIS. The paper describes the role of collaborative mapping and digital participation in the process of community building and community assets mapping. Secondly, we will use the examples of Kenya and Peru to support our findings of community development. Thirdly, we will discuss a possible further development within the use of OpenStreetMap (OSM) for remote communities. The analysis compares approaches and experiences in different countries on different continents.

How Else Would You Take a Photo? #SelfieAmbivalence

Popular discourse describing selfies as the “narcissistic”2 practice of teenagers or a tool of personal empowerment, minimize the structural constraints under which selfies operate as a ubiquitous mode of sociality. Based on focus group discussions in two Canadian cities, we explore how young adults describe their selfie experiences and explore three discursive tensions expressed in the transcripts. First, how questions of “control” were taken up; second, how “visibility” was understood as fragile, and animated by an anxiety of invisibility; third, the nature of “fun” that selfies generate. We conclude by exploring some of the epistemological shifts that these practices indicate.

Radio as A Tool for Society Empowerment in Sub-Saharan States

The rapid development experienced by the mass media has changed theway societies access information. It could be proven by the existence ofcommunication and information technology, which requires variousconditions such as qualified educational experiences, good economicconditions, and the existence of adequate infrastructures. However, theserequirements are not easy to be met by people in sub-Saharan countries.As a result, people in sub-Saharan countries use radio instead as a massmedia to obtain information. Regarding this phenomenon, the authorsees an opportunity to use radio as a tool for community empowerment,precisely through the spread of endemic knowledge. The author thenuses the marginal utilitarianism method with a bottom-up approachexplaining how radio could be used in community empowerment whichresulted into information blending methods. The purpose of the paperitself is to give new insight on ways to empower society, precisely throughthe use of traditional mass media.

PODCASTING AND PERSONAL BRANDS: MAPPING A THEORETICAL PATH FROM PARTICIPATORY EMPOWERMENT TO INDIVIDUAL PERSONA CONSTRUCTION

This research paper critically analyses the The Osher Günsberg Podcast to illustrate a theoretical disconnect between dominant Web 2.0 theories and the contemporary practice of using the podcast to construct a networked branded persona. I trace the history of early theorisations of the medium, first regarded by leading scholars as a tool for user empowerment in the ‘participatory turn’ in media studies before examining how it is employed by media personalities to establish transmedia personal brands; a particular phenomenon emerging at the forefront of a renewed interest in podcasting by traditional media stakeholders. I argue that this disconnect reveals a need for scholars who study the podcast to now draw on the emerging field of persona studies, which offers a range of new tools that will be useful in analysing the continued evolution of podcasting under its new market pressures and potentials.

The interaction effect of gender and ethnicity in loan approval: A Bayesian estimation with data from a laboratory field experiment

AbstractMicrofinance targets women and uses loan provision as a tool for empowerment, which translates into better household nutrition, improved education, and a scale down of domestic violence. However, ethnic discrimination in microfinance may exist in countries with a segregated indigenous population. We assessed this possibility with a field experiment in Bolivia. The controlled laboratory experiment evaluated whether credit officers rejected microloan applications based on the interaction effect of ethnicity and gender of potential borrowers. Point estimates of a Bayesian mixed‐effects logistic regression, estimated with the experimental data, indicate that nonindigenous women have double the chance of loan approval, but indigenous women have only 1.5 times the chance of loan approval when compared with men. While the findings about gender are limited, the evidence for the interaction of gender and ethnicity is more robust and suggests the existence of positive taste‐based discrimination favorable for nonethnic women in Bolivia. We conclude that the affirmative actions towards women promoted by development agencies and microfinance institutions must not overlook ethnicity as an important factor for financial policies of sustainable development. In practice, these policies should be aimed at identifying and reducing both social desirability bias and the structural barriers to financial inclusion that indigenous women may face when trying to obtain access to a loan.

Social innovation matters: The adoption of participatory guarantee systems within Italian alternative agri‐food networks

AbstractParticipatory guarantee systems are locally based practices for assuring organic product authenticity that are proving to be a valuable tool for farmers' empowerment and social innovation. Recent years have witnessed a growing interest in locally based certification and distribution strategies of organic products. Participatory guarantee systems (PGS) simplify bureaucratic procedures for small organic producers, who are often overwhelmed by the extensive documentation required by third‐party certification. PGS development has facilitated several social processes, thus enabling social inclusion, farmers' empowerment, and mutual support.

Education as the Tool of Empowerment for Underprivileged Caste:A Systematic Review

Education as the Tool of Empowerment for Underprivileged Caste:A Systematic Review

DE TOTSTANDKOMING VAN MEETINSTRUMENTEN VAN EMPOWERMENT ONDER DE LOEP. INSTRUMENTONTWIKKELING VOLGENS DE KWALITEITSSTANDAARDEN, EEN KRITISCHE BESCHOUWING

SAMENVATTING Empowerment is een centraal begrip binnen het sociaal werk in Nederland en Vlaanderen. Er is behoefte aan meetinstrumenten die de empowerende effecten van hulpaanbod blootleggen. De wijze waarop meetinstrumenten ontwikkeld worden, lijkt echter invloed te hebben op de kwaliteit van de instrumenten (Steenssens, Van Regenmortel & Schalk, 2017). Een vijftal kwaliteitsstandaarden is ontwikkeld, waarmee uitspraken gedaan kunnen worden over de kwaliteit van de totstandkoming van dergelijke meetinstrumenten. Om zicht te krijgen op de waarde van deze kwaliteitsstandaarden wordt in dit artikel de wijze waarop een drietal empowerment meetinstrumenten ontwikkeld zijn, kritisch beschouwd vanuit deze standaarden. Dit is gedaan door semigestructureerde interviews met ontwikkelaars te combineren met analyses van bestaand materiaal over de instrumenten. De kwaliteitsstandaarden blijken een kader te bieden met richtlijnen voor instrumentontwikkeling. Het blijkt van belang om goed af te bakenen wat gemeten wordt, zodat een volledig beeld van empowerment verkregen wordt. Verder is goede afstemming tussen contextspecifieke elementen en meer generieke elementen in itemopbouw nodig en is betrokkenheid van de doelgroep bij instrumentontwikkeling noodzakelijk. SUMMARY Empowerment is a central concept within social work in the Netherlands and Flanders. Both citizens, professionals and politics require measuring instruments that expose the empowering effect of social interventions. There are various measuring instruments that aim to measure different levels of empowerment. The way in which measuring instruments are developed, however, seems to affect the quality of the instrument. Important is the way in which an instrument is based on the theoretical framework; the extent to which the target group is involved in the development of an instrument; the extent to which the definition of the concept of empowerment is aligned with the perception of the target group. To this end and with this in mind, five quality standards have been developed in Flanders, and tested in the context of organization empowerment and in the context of social work, with which statements can be made about the value of the creation of a measuring tool for empowerment. These relate to the scope of the instrument, the context specificity of the instrument, the extent to which the target group is involved in the development, the extent to which the target group is involved in the use of the instrument and the extent to which the instrument distinguishes processes and outcomes of empowerment. In this article, the way in which a number of measurement tools of empowerment have been developed is critically considered and evaluated based on these quality standards, in order to gain insight into the value of these quality standards as a framework for developing instruments. The last standard, concerning processes and outcomes is not taking into account, due to the limited research design and the limited time frame of this study. The development of three validated measuring instruments that are used in social work, have been studied by combining semi-structured interviews with the developers with existing material about the instruments. The five quality standards formed the starting point for the questions to the developers, looking for similarities and deviations between the development of their instrument and the standards. The quality standards offer a quality framework and provide insight into the development possibilities of measuring instruments. One conclusion confirms the importance of a good definition of what is measured so that a complete picture of empowerment can be acquired. It became apparent that a tension arises when developers deviate from the theoretical framework of empowerment in determining which items should be included and only the perception of the target group was a determining factor, even though the perception of the target group is crucial for the creation of a fitting instrument. Related to this, the target group of an instrument can, in addition to the clients of social workers, also be defined as the social workers themselves. They represent the professional perspective of empowerment in the lives of their clients. Furthermore, a good match between context-specific elements and more generic elements in item building seems promising. The extent to which the target group is involved in the use of the instrument and in the processing of the data depends on the organizations that use the instrument, the developers state that they have no influence on this. While using the various instruments, social workers found out that the measurements of empowerment, in addition to the numerical value, also form a relevant and practical ‘conversation tool’ for social workers, with which they discuss possibilities and limitations with their clients

Construction and Validation of an Occupational Psychological Empowerment Tool for Relief Workers of the Iranian Red Crescent Society

Construction and Validation of an Occupational Psychological Empowerment Tool for Relief Workers of the Iranian Red Crescent Society