ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The Pasifika Prediabetes Youth Empowerment Programme (PPYEP) was a community-based research project that aimed to investigate empowerment and co-design modules to build the capacity of Pasifika youth to develop community interventions for preventing prediabetes. METHODS: This paper reports findings from a formative evaluation process of the programme using thematic analysis. It emphasises the adoption, perceptions and application of empowerment and co-design based on the youth and community providers' experiences. RESULTS: We found that the programme fostered a safe space, increased youth's knowledge about health and healthy lifestyles, developed their leadership and social change capacities, and provided a tool to develop and refine culturally centred prediabetes-prevention programmes. These themes emerged non-linearly and synergistically throughout the programme. CONCLUSIONS: Our research emphasises that empowerment and co-design are complementary in building youth capacity in community-based partnerships in health promotion. Implications for public health: Empowerment and co-design are effective tools to develop and implement culturally tailored health promotion programmes for Pasifika peoples. Future research is needed to explore the programme within different Pasifika contexts, health issues and Indigenous groups.
Subject(s)
Health Promotion , Healthy Lifestyle , Adolescent , Humans , Indigenous Peoples , New Zealand , Qualitative ResearchABSTRACT
AIM: Using a co-design approach, we describe exploratory findings of a community-based intervention to mobilise Pasifika communities into action, with the intent of reducing the risk factors of prediabetes. METHOD: A group of 25 Pasifika youth aged 15-24 years from two distinctive Pasifika communities in New Zealand were trained to lead a small-scale, community-based intervention programme (among 29 participants) over the course of eight weeks. The intervention, which targeted adults aged 25-44 years who were overweight or obese, employed both an empowerment-based programme and a co-design approach to motivate community members to participate in a physical-activity-based intervention programme. RESULTS: Findings show significant reductions in total body weight and waist circumference, as well as improved physical activity. CONCLUSIONS: The strength of this intervention was evident in the innovative approach of utilising Pasifika-youth-led and co-designed approaches to motivate communities into healthier lifestyles. The approaches used in this project could be utilised in a primary healthcare setting as a community-wide strategy to reduce diabetes risk, particularly among Pasifika peoples.
