Micro grants as a stimulus for community action in residential health programmes: a case study

Schmidt, Mélodi; Plochg, Thomas; Harting, Janneke; Klazinga, Niek; Stronks, Karien

doi:10.1093/heapro/dap017

Cited by 23 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Microgrants are a mechanism for providing funding through subsidies to community organizations or groups to encourage public participation in health initiatives [ 21 ]. They appear to be effective tools for enhancing community capacity, reducing inequalities, and testing new initiatives in the context of health promotion [ 21 – 26 ]. Among the few studies that have examined microgrants for programs that included some aspect of PA [ 22 – 24 , 26 ], only one had a specific focus on supporting the promotion of PA [ 22 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A qualitative examination of the impact of microgrants to promote physical activity among adolescents

et al. 2014

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BackgroundMicrogrants are a mechanism for providing funding to community organizations or groups to support health initiatives. Little research to date has examined the use of microgrants in promoting physical activity (PA), and no studies have explored how microgrants may support PA promotion among adolescents. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of microgrants in enhancing PA opportunities for Canadian adolescents.MethodsEmploying a case study approach, nine community organizations from across Canada were selected as cases providing sports and physical activities with the support of microgrant funding. Researchers visited each organization and conducted semi-structured interviews with 40 program participants (12–25 years of age, M = 16.3, SD = 2.6) and 17 adult organizers/instructors (23–57 years of age, M = 37.4, SD = 10.0). Interview transcripts were inductively and deductively coded to identify concepts and create a hierarchy of themes.ResultsAnalysis produced themes regarding participants’ perceptions of the Funding, Running Programs and Events, the Impact of Program (for the Organization, Teen Participants, and the Community). Opportunities for PA programming would not have been possible without the microgrant funding. Microgrant funding was valuable in promoting PA for adolescents, and they afforded opportunities for adolescents to engage in new and/or nontraditional activities. In addition to promoting PA, the microgrants had benefits for participants and the community organizations including improved organizational capacity.ConclusionsMicrogrants appear to be an effective mechanism for enhancing community capacity to provide PA opportunities for Canadian adolescents by helping to reduce financial barriers and empowering adolescents to take an active role in identifying and hosting new and creative PA events within their communities.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A qualitative examination of the impact of microgrants to promote physical activity among adolescents

et al. 2014

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“…Neighbours Connected is an innovative approach within the field of healthy ageing because the focus of Neighbours Connected is not on the content of the activity, but rather on the process of organizing, and on the circumstances in which activities are organized. There are some similar projects (Bobbitt-Cooke, 2005;Foster-Fishman et al, 2006;Hartwig et al, 2006;Schmidt, Plochg, Harting, Klazinga, & Stronks, 2009;Tan et al, 2010) however, within these programmes the combination of financial and practical support was not available for older people organizing an activity for their neighbours, only for organizations. Providing financial and practical support to the organizers, as was done by Neighbours Connected, improved the opportunities to actually organize the activity for their older neighbours.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neighbors Connected; Exploring Recruitment of Dutch Older People for Activities

Lezwijn¹,

Vaandrager²,

Wagemakers³

et al. 2015

International Journal of Social Science Studies

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The recruitment of older people to engage in actions aimed at promoting health is an issue that does not receive much attention within health promotion practice. Many activities for older people are organized; however, less socially active older people do not participate in such activities. The aim of this study is to examine how to successfully recruit less socially active older people to participate in social activities. By means of a short questionnaire completed by 254 participants, and interviews with 12 participants and 9 organizers, we identified four elements that facilitate recruitment of less socially active older people to participate in social activities of the programme Neighbours Connected. These elements are: (i) personal contact with organizers, (ii) social support, (iii) close proximity and easy accessibility, and (iv) an opportunity offered by the activity itself for social interaction and for learning new things. These elements contribute to perceiving activities as comprehensible, manageable, and meaningful. We conclude that the elements that improve recruitment for activities mainly relate to the context in which the activity is organized, rather than to the content of the activity. For future programmes this means that in recruitment, focus should be as much on the context in which an activity takes place as on the content of the activity.

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“…These events are not the result of a health promotion program with definite aim and objectives, but rather the result of a natural path created by the community. Over time, community members acquired the skills to bring about social, economic, and political changes (9,16,24).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A bottom-up art event gave birth to a process of community empowerment in an Italian village

et al. 2011

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Although community participation is a component of community empowerment, it often remains a theoretical exhortation. Reporting experiences which enable people to take control of their lives, can be useful to suggest practical elements for promoting empowerment. This article describes the experience of a Sardinian village (Ulassai), that developed into a community empowerment. The Laverack's operational domains were used to measure the community empowerment process. The process started in 1979 'almost by chance' with an art performance that was the entry point for community participation. This experience has been the foundation for the community empowerment. Citizens acquired the 'ability of thinking and planning as a community and not mere individuals'. In the following 30 years citizens gave birth to several outcomes rooted in that event. The intermediate outcomes highlight the 'ability of action by a group to mobilize existing resources, and act collectively against opposing forces'. The long-term outcomes demonstrate the 'ability to integrate the cultural experiences that strengthened the community's identification into a sustainable community asset', and the 'ability to cope with global environmental challenges and to collaborate on an equal basis with other stakeholders. The pathways to community empowerment, showed by the community of Ulassai, overlap with the 'operational domains'. The Ulassai experience shows that the empowerment process can start from an event apparently unrelated to health promotion. This community experience illustrates the positive role arts can play in community development. Hence, the call for health promoters to look carefully into those situations that occur naturally in communities.

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Micro grants as a stimulus for community action in residential health programmes: a case study

Cited by 23 publications

References 15 publications

A qualitative examination of the impact of microgrants to promote physical activity among adolescents

A qualitative examination of the impact of microgrants to promote physical activity among adolescents

Neighbors Connected; Exploring Recruitment of Dutch Older People for Activities

A bottom-up art event gave birth to a process of community empowerment in an Italian village

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