Empowerment in the Broadest Terms - Report Example

COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT by Introduction Empowerment isthe means of gaining power. Many scholars have attempted to define empowerment in the broadest terms. According to (Wallerstein 1992), empowerment is a process through which comparatively helpless individuals operate together to strengthen control and organization over actions that determine their wellbeing (health) and lives. The quintessence of empowerment argues that empowerment is not an attribute that can be granted to some individuals but needs to be acquired by those people who look for it. The individuals who have power or can get close to acquiring power, such as health consultants, and the individuals, who need it, such as their customers, need to operate collectively to develop the essential circumstances to develop empowerment possible. Community empowerment is a practice that comprises repeated changes in power associations between various people and societal groups. Additionally, community empowerment is a consequence and, in this framework, may change, for instance, as a product of the redeployment of assets and authorities that affect decisions or as the accomplishment of an enlarged sense of independence and self-confidence (Speller 2006). However, it is most constantly regarded in a program setting as a practice in which persons, groups, and societies grow in the direction of a more planned system of social action. The understanding and the interpretation of empowerment in this regard has been criticized in the past as a linear method of interpreting a rather dynamic process. This method does, however, assist in clarifying the method in which different individuals that do have a common interest can cooperate to increase gradually their power. This power can be essential in addressing the fundamental economic, social and cultural factors that affect their immediate needs such as health and how improvements can be done to improve entertainment facilities or improve the situations of their rented houses (Ridde 2007). According to Communities in Control White Paper dubbed Real People, Real Power (CLG, 2008, p2), it explained empowerment as transferring political power more and more to many individuals, through all available executable systems. Within the confines of health locales, empowerment denotes augmenting individuals aptitudes and dispositions to influence resolutions that touch on service delivery provided by the government and private institutions. In order for societies to have a durable effect on policy-making, some enhancements on their capacities have to be done within the societies as well as in the institutions that seek to engage them. The Relationship between Empowerment and Health Outcomes According to community psychologists, empowerment enhances personal competencies and self-confidence, which automatically influences an individual to heighten his acuities of personal control that have direct consequences on health improvement outcomes (Wallerstein 1992). It is also said to enhance personal relations with other individuals and their contribution to societal groups and certain communal associations of interest that desire to attain more powers with the intention of effecting changes in their external surroundings (Zimmerman and Rappaport 1988). Empowerment is commonly observed as a practice that starts with personal action, and then growth and development of small action groups, community-based groups, and organizational partnerships, political and social activism. Power is regarded as a limited factor. Communal groupings are only capable of possessing a certain amount of dominion over assets to the level that another community or group is without a corresponding amount. For that reason, gaining power becomes a win/lose situation. According to Clegg (1991), power depends on available resources such that it can be employed as a tool for elevating an individual or a group to a higher position, while at the same time dropping it for another group or individual. Scholars have analysed that numerous disparities in health are an outcome of power associations that influence the distributions of assets and policy formulation. Individuals gaining power they so desire to balance disparities can introduce structural and social improvements, and this is done through the process of community empowerment. Empowerment initiatives that are community-based which result in enhancements in health outcomes have emphasized on effecting changes in the environment. These changes have an instant effect on actions that can be measured during the period within the intervention phase. According to research by Carr (2000), community action results in continued modifications in the structural and social setting that is associated with health improvements, for instance, alcohol abuse, and injury prevention. In Surfers Paradise in the Australian shores, community action steered a campaign that led to enhanced control of licensed alcoholic locations and the enactment of rules and a code of practice for all individuals working in bars and as a result, lowered significantly liquor-related violence (Deehan 2004). Community action in Piha, New Zealand resulted in prohibitions on the public consumption of alcohol leading to fewer damages and crime occurrences (Conway 2002). In other areas, community action undertakings directed at controlling the use of alcoholic beverages have led to massive training workshops of bartenders, reduced operating hours of areas allowed to trade in alcoholic drinks and heightened vigilance and checks especially aimed at discouraging underage drinkers. In the same light, highway law enforcers have intensified operations to nub individuals driving under the influence of alcohol leading to reduced fatalities and injuries. Merits of Empowerment and Health results The Healthcare Commissions research, which involves working together, listening and learning (2009), clearly reveals that when people undertake activities to improve their own health as well as that of the community, there are three definite things that take place. First, the local services become more favourable to facilitate local conditions. Secondly, health needs become lesser hence health facilities are visited less often and lastly, services become more available, and satisfaction and accountability are indeed guaranteed. It was also clear in the report that much was needed to be done by the NHS agencies in order to attain effective empowerment (Graham 2009). When individuals take part in voluntary and community activities like time banking schemes, engage in self-help groups, or even act as health champions, there is an obvious improvement in their health and they acknowledge that the responsibility of maintaining it lies with them. It may predominantly apply to individuals with alcohol or smoking problems as well as those suffering from accidents or exposed to poor dietary habits. Handling the sources of constant health disparities can assist in minimizing dependence on immediate services hence assist in developing lifes ambitions. Members of the community clearly understand the root causes of ill health because they are well aware of the circumstances that cause or prolong sickness (Ledwith and Springett 2010). By assisting communities to find out and articulate these circumstances, health providers are in a position to create remedies that will enable locals to deal with the actual issues that surround their lives. Providing assistance in delivering and designing local services or tasks can assist in boosting confidence, a sense of belonging and more so a feeling of ownership for the locals. By participating in community undertakings or being a member of a particular community group, an individual is assured of an increase in his or her wellbeing. Community groups also create "social capital" which is the norms that uphold the trust and a sense of cooperation, thus offering a certain degree of care for each other. There is overwhelming evidence that proves that people who are inclined to higher levels of cooperation among themselves have a faster recovery rate with a higher degree of resilience to ailment (Ridde 2007). SEWA (Self-Employed Womens Association) Close to one million self -employed women make up the trade union in Gujarat, India called SEWA (Chen, Khurana and Mirani 2005). Just like the majority of the self-employed embroidery workers, vegetable sellers and pushcart traders, the SEWA women were more or less part of this society that plied their trade in deplorable conditions. Local authorities were always hot on their heels not to mention that they had no access to any kind of social security or any form of insurance. They were also compelled procure loans at exploitative rates that led them to organize themselves and take charge of their lives. Those who grew and sold vegetables linked up and began their own vegetable store hence did away with the intermediary to cut on costs for mutual gain. The women further opened their own bank and facilitated easy access to credit for their members thus avoided the massive interest rates charged by other loan agents. A collective health insurance scheme enables them to pay for health expenses that were outrageously high prior to their coming together. The union also systematically runs childcare centres for young children and infants. They are also on the frontline in championing for childcare as a right for every woman worker. Challenges of Promoting Community Empowerment Empowering communities without a doubt delivers many benefits. However, with a limited flow of assets and conflicting precedences, a primary challenge in running empowerment forums is to influence busy and cynical associates and their respective communities that there is need to engage in work related to community empowerment (Graham 2009). On staff challenges, it is quite difficult for the local authority officers to become community-empowerment experts overnight. Empowering communities effectively is a task that needs the expertise and skill of qualified individuals, who have hands-on experience with community work. For instance, a community empowerment project related to immunization of infants requires a qualified practitioner or an experienced individual in that field. Nonetheless, every individual operating in the health industry is required to recognize that they have a part to bring their work into line. As a result, some adjustments in relation to their professional conduct and attitudes may be needed. Another challenge is constructing a successful partnering network across various industries and professional areas of expertise, especially with companies that do not have a working relationship with governmental institutions mandated with the responsibility of oversight and statutory payments. In addition, working with multiple organizations, all with dissimilar experiences, purposes and objectives may become cumbersome to organizers trying to keep everybody headed in the same direction (Laverack 2012). Local organizations may find it difficult to obtain funds or even the right staff while the local authorities are subject to shifting directives from the central government. While trying to pull every individual to move in the direction so desired, it is of paramount importance to note that tensions and variances in opinions and perspectives are part of the process and they are not avoidable always. Skilled facilitation can enhance relationships and can develop mutual respect in the long-term. A report by NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence 2008) aimed at establishing the challenges of community empowerment faced by different areas found that higher levels of community development were many times needed, in particular, geographical locations where communal activities and participation were customarily non-existent. The report additionally established the need for offering support and training services to local authorities, individuals in civil service to permit additional participative forms of operation to develop. Structural and cultural obstacles are additional factors said to impede efforts and projects that are geared towards community empowerment. Involvement can be inhibited by growth specialists reluctance to challenge inner power associations, absence of information about empowerment, or disinclination to advance past engaging main squealers in order to sincerely assist community decision- making processes (Gilchrist 2004). Bibliography Carr, A. (2000). Community project workers scheme crime prevention projects: Evaluation report. Wellington: Community Development Group, Department of Internal Affairs, Government of New Zealand. 1 Chen, M. A., Khurana, R., & Mirani, N. (2005). Towards economic freedom: the impact of SEWA. Self Employed Womens Association. Clegg, S. (1991). Book Reviews: Kenneth E. Boulding: Three Faces of Power 1989, Newbury Park, London, New Delhi: Sage. 257 pages. Organization Studies, 12(3), pp.472-473. Conway, K. (2002). Booze and beach bans: turning the tide through community action in New Zealand. Health Promotion International, 17(2), pp.171-177. Deehan, A. (2004). The Prevention of Alcohol-related Crime: Operationalising Situational and Environmental Strategies. Crime Prev Community Saf, 6(1), pp.43-52. Gilchrist, A. (2004). The well-connected community. Bristol: Policy Press. Graham, H. (2009). Understanding health inequalities. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill. Laverack, G. (2012). Health activism: Foundation and Strategies. Los Angeles: Sage. Ledwith, M. and Springett, J. (2010). Participatory practice. Bristol, UK: Policy Press. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. (2008). Nursing Standard, 22(50), pp.30-30. Ridde, V. (2007). Reducing social inequalities in health: public health, community health or health promotion?. Promotion & Education, 14(2), pp.63-67. Speller, V. (2006). Health Promotion Practice; Power & Empowerment. Building Empowered Communities20062Glenn Laverack. Health Promotion Practice; Power & Empowerment. Building Empowered Communities . Sage Publications, 2004.) Health Education, 106(2), pp.170-171. Wallerstein, N. (1992). Powerlessness, Empowerment, and Health: Implications for Health Promotion Programs. American Journal of Health Promotion, 6(3), pp.197-205. Zimmerman, M. and Rappaport, J. (1988). Citizen participation, perceived control, and psychological empowerment. American Journal of Community Psychology, 16(5), pp.725-750. Read More