Sense of Self, Empowerment, and Interpersonal Skills Among African American Teens in East Cleveland, Ohio
- PDF / 1,158,851 Bytes
- 16 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 95 Downloads / 199 Views
Sense of Self, Empowerment, and Interpersonal Skills Among African American Teens in East Cleveland, Ohio Cyleste C. Collins1 · Paulette Sage2 · LeaAnne DeRigne3 · Robert Fischer4
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract This study explores the extent to which teen participants in a youth development program had a greater empowerment selfconnectedness, intrapersonal, and interpersonal skills after participating in the program. Findings from 2 years of a youth development program in East Cleveland, Ohio, are reported. A collaborative health navigator model was used to increase connectedness, empowerment, improve health care access, and ultimately prevent health disparities. Pre-test and post-test surveys covering two 10-month periods for two cohorts of teens collected standardized data on teens’ (N = 31) senses of empowerment and connectedness. Focus groups were conducted with both health navigators and teen ambassadors about their experiences with the program and its impact. The quantitative findings were mixed, but qualitative findings suggested that the program helped the teens develop a sense of personal empowerment through increased intrapersonal and interpersonal skills. While long-term research including control groups is needed, the findings suggest that targeted teen programming can be a useful tool in the battle against health disparities. Keywords Youth development · Preventive programming · Program evaluation · Teenagers · Social determinants of health · Underserved communities · Mixed methods The teenage years can be a tumultuous time marked by not only physical changes such as puberty but also by profound external pressures that can impact health, well-being and future outcomes. Although data support the power of social and physical environments to affect health (Anderson, Smith & Sidel, 2005; Irwin & Scali, 2007; Link & Phelan, 1995; * LeaAnne DeRigne [email protected] Cyleste C. Collins [email protected] Paulette Sage [email protected] Robert Fischer [email protected] 1
School of Social Work, Cleveland State University, 2121 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44115, USA
2
Cleveland, OH, USA
3
School of Social Work, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Rd, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA
4
Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
Navarro, Voetsch, Liburd, Bezold, & Rhea, 2007; Tountas, 2009), it is only relatively recently that health stakeholders and funders have shifted focus from the individual to community-level interventions for health promotion and prevention (Dean, Williams, & Fenton, 2013). Some now argue that social determinants of health (SDOH) supersede other factors affecting health including biology, genetics, and medical care (Bierman & Dunn, 2006; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2010; Gottlieb, Fielding, & Braveman, 2012; Tarlov, 1999). The World Health Organization definition of “health,” adopted by the Centers for Dise
Data Loading...
