Complexity and Community Context: Learning from the Evaluation Design of a National Community Empowerment Programme

South, J and Button, D and Quick, A and Bagnall, A-M and Trigwell, J and Woodward, J and Coan, S and Southby, K (2019) Complexity and Community Context: Learning from the Evaluation Design of a National Community Empowerment Programme. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17 (1). p. 91. ISSN 1660-4601 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17010091

Abstract

Community empowerment interventions, which aim to build greater individual and community control over health, are shaped by the community systems in which they are implemented. Drawing on complex systems thinking in public health research, this paper discusses the evaluation approach used for a UK community empowerment programme focused on disadvantaged neighbourhoods. It explores design choices and the tension between the overall enquiry questions, which were based on a programme theory of change, and the varied dynamic socio-cultural contexts in intervention communities. The paper concludes that the complexity of community systems needs to be accounted for through in-depth case studies that incorporate community perspectives.

Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17010091
Status:	Published
Refereed:	Yes
Publisher:	MDPI
Uncontrolled Keywords:	case studies, community-based research, complexity, empowerment, evaluation, neighbourhood deprivation, Toxicology,
Depositing User (symplectic)	Deposited by South, Jane
Date Deposited:	22 Jan 2020 09:45
Last Modified:	14 Jul 2024 02:20
Item Type:	Article