Speakers
Description
Objectives: Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is an effective approach in the field of sport related health promotion to reach socially disadvantaged groups. The study examines the effects of a German CBPR-project, called BIG (=Movement as investment in health). Since 2005, BIG aims to empower women in difficult life situations to increase their control over determinants of their health and reduce social inequalities through physical activity promotion. BIG has been implemented in several municipalities in Germany. This study explores (a) whether participation could change women’s empowerment on an individual, organizational and community level; (b) how an increased empowerment may affect other areas of the women’s life.
Methods: We used 53 semi-structured qualitative interviews with participating women, trainers, project coordinators, stakeholders from five BIG communities. Interviews were conducted between 2007 and 2011 and analyzed using thematic analysis.
Results: Interviews showed that BIG contributes especially to the individual empowerment of the participating women in various ways, including increased self-efficacy, promotion of social networks, development of competences and motivation to change the physical activity behavior. Women who got involved in project planning further strengthened their organizational empowerment. All dimensions of empowerment influenced the women's family life, quality of life and their professional lives.
Conclusion: This study revealed some novel findings that help to understand the effects of a complex empowerment-based approach by promoting physical activity among women in difficult life situations. Future research should focus on the long-term effects of empowerment-based CBPR-programs and their transferability to other sites.
