Professional development programs in health promotion : tools and processes to favor new practices
Article [Accepted Manuscript]
Abstract(s)
Developing innovative interventions that are in sync with a health promotion paradigm often represents
a challenge for professionals working in local public health organizations. Thus, it is critical to have both
professional development programs that favor new practices and tools to examine these practices. In
this case study, we analyze the health promotion approach used in a pilot intervention addressing children’s
vulnerability that was developed and carried out by participants enrolled in a public health professional
development program. More specifically, we use a modified version of Guichard and Ridde’s
(Une grille d’analyse des actions pour lutter contre les inégalités sociales de santé. In Potvin, L., Moquet,
M.-J. and Jones, C. M. (eds), Réduire les Inégalités Sociales en Santé. INPES, Saint-Denis Cedex, pp. 297–
312, 2010) analytical grid to assess deductively the program participants’ use of health promotion practices
in the analysis and planning, implementation, evaluation, sustainability and empowerment phases
of the pilot intervention. We also seek evidence of practices involving (empowerment, participation,
equity, holism, an ecological approach, intersectorality and sustainability) in the intervention. The results
are mixed: our findings reveal evidence of the application of several dimensions of health promotion
(equity, holism, an ecological approach, intersectorality and sustainability), but also a lack of integration
of two key dimensions; that is, empowerment and participation, during various phases of the pilot intervention.
These results show that the professional development program is associated with the adoption
of a pilot intervention integrating multiple but not all dimensions of health promotion. We make recommendations
to facilitate a more complete integration. This research also shows that the Guichard and
Ridde grid proves to be a thorough instrument to document the practices of participants.
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