Conceptualizing Organizational Domains of Community Empowerment through Empowerment Evaluation in Estonian Communities

Societies

Anu Kasmel¹ 

[1] Institute of Political Science and Governance, University of Tallinn, Narva mnt. 10-120, Tallinn, Estonia

关键词: community empowerment;    evaluation;    Estonia;    Eastern Europe;   

DOI  :  10.3390/soc1010003

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The importance of community empowerment has been strongly emphasized in health promotion publications in Western societies. Only a few studies exist to highlight the empowerment processes in countries in transition in Eastern Europe. A multi-stage study was designed to develop a context-specific survey instrument appropriate for evaluating the changes in the community empowerment process within the context of health promotion programs in Rapla, Estonia. The current study comprises the first stage, which aims to identify and systematize empowering domains and activities perceived by community members during the empowerment evaluation process. Semi-structuredinterviews were undertaken with sixteen participants from three health promotion programs. Purposive sampling was used, and data were analyzed using constant comparison. The findings suggest that there are four key organizational domains that characterize the community empowerment process in Rapla: activation of the community, competence development of the community, program management development, and creation of a supportive environment.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2011 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.