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. 2001 Nov-Dec;92(6):448-52.
doi: 10.1007/BF03404538.

The girlpower project--recreation, BC health goals and social capital

J W Higgins  1 , N Reed
Affiliations

The girlpower project--recreation, BC health goals and social capital

J W Higgins et al. Can J Public Health. 2001 Nov-Dec.

Abstract
in English, French

'GirlPower,' a participatory action research project, explored how participation in recreation might contribute to the achievement of BC's Health Goals and nurture social capital. After identifying their health issues, up to 43 young women participated in recreational activities for 10 months, gradually taking responsibility for the planning of the weekly sessions. Data collection methods included weekly participation rates, two surveys to measure self-perceptions and health habits, focus groups with participants to assess needs and as a process evaluation tool, a qualitative summative evaluation with participants, key informant interviews with staff, a journal kept by the project leader and fieldnotes of researchers' observations. Quantitative findings did not support the propositions that the project contributed to the health of participants. However, analysis of the qualitative data suggests that GirlPower participants emerged from the project with a better sense of control over their lives and feeling more connected to their community.

« GirlPower », un projet de recherche-action participatif, visait à déterminer si la participation aux loisirs contribue à l’atteinte des objectifs de santé de la Colombie-Britannique et si elle favorise le capital social. Après avoir indiqué leurs problèmes de santé, jusqu’à 43 jeunes femmes ont participé à des activités de loisirs pendant 10 mois en assumant graduellement la responsabilité de la planification des séances hebdomadaires. Nous avons recueilli des données à partir des taux de participation hebdomadaires, de deux sondages (mesurant la perception de soi et les habitudes de santé), de groupes de concertation avec les participantes pour évaluer leurs besoins et l’ensemble du processus, d’un bilan qualitatif avec les participantes, d’entrevues du personnel avec des informatrices clés, du journal du chef de projet et des notes de campagne des chercheurs. Nos constatations quantitatives n’ont pas permis de confirmer que le projet a renforcé la santé des participantes, mais l’analyse des données qualitatives suggère qu’elles ont retiré du projet un meilleur sentiment de contrôle de leur vie et d’insertion dans la collectivité.

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