Participatory Health Groups
Participatory health groups encourage people to view themselves as a source of knowledge in tackling health issues. This approach focuses on groups of people who have common issues affecting their ability to cope with daily life in a healthy way. The emphasis is on helping the groups help themselves. Gaining control over one's life is very important to one's health.
In this model, knowledge does not come from outside "experts" but from the collective wisdom that emerges from a group sharing experiences and understanding the social influences that affect individual lives. The group members develop strategies together that will change their present situation.
What Happens in a Participatory Health Groups
They address problems that have emotional meaning for group members because these issues provoke the most interests.
Group members discover that they can do a variety of things to improve their health. They also learn skills they can use in other aspects of their lives. Participation in the process itself has healing benefits.
How the Group Works
These are the basic steps to the group process, which moves through a cycle of analysis, action, and reflection.
- Identifying the group in need
- Recruiting and/or training facilitators
- Conducting a listening survey of group members to identify key issues
- Analyzing problems in a group meeting to look for root causes and strategies for solutions
- Developing a plan of action
- Reviewing, evaluating and reflecting
- Continuing action
The Facilitator's Role
The role of facilitators is to get the program started, assist the group process, and provide information if requested. The group members should identify and analyze problems and then develop solutions.
