Armed with strong beliefs in the need for and power of health promotion (HP), I was excited to begin my learning journey last semester with MHST 631. Throughout the course I developed a beginners understanding of the HP field, including theories, models, and approaches. Weekly readings and course work underscored the importance of health and sustainable development, community engagement and inclusion, and the necessity of critical allyship. Of note, a focus on implicit bias demonstrated the power of the unconscious mind, and served as a reminder to regularly check in with myself to ensure my outside words and actions match my inside views (and vice versa).
My final reflections on the semester are available here.
Throughout the semester I was given the opportunity to add to a professional e-Portfolio – a living repository created at the beginning of my Master of Health Studies adventure. Beyond allowing me to flex my creative muscles (something I thoroughly enjoy) I feel my portfolio demonstrates a clear (and at times passionate) expression of personal views on a variety of health promotion (and leadership) topics. This, I feel, is especially evident throughout the blog component where I have been able to complement a personable writing style with well organized, research supported arguments. Additionally, I feel I have assembled a strong collection of resources (that I will continue to curate) that have and continue to assist me on my learning journey and in the development of my own unique HP values, beliefs, and approach. I look forward to continuing to add to my portfolio this semester.
Throughout 631 I found myself drawn strongly to the tenets of the Social Ecological Model (SEM) which seeks to explore and understand all of the systems that play a role in impacting the lived experiences and associated development of individuals, groups, and populations (Crawford, 2020; Hreha, 2023). As a social worker by education, the model’s rejection of identifying and essentially “blaming” human deficits is well-matched to personal and practice beliefs in a strength’s-based approach and the importance of anti-oppressive practice. I was able to apply the model to my chosen HP topic of focus: participation of persons with disabilities in inclusive recreation programs; Using an examination of the model’s levels of influence to identify barriers to participation of this population that are beyond physical inability or personal choice.
My “brief” presentation can be accessed from the artefacts tab of my e-Portfolio here.
While I feel I have developed a relatively strong grasp of SEM, I would by no means consider myself an SEM (or HP model, framework, or theory) expert. In fact, quite the opposite. I feel, in practice, I often struggle to understand and connect theoretical thinking to “real life” scenarios. I enter 632 nervous that I am or will become in over my head, but, as in my previous eight semesters, am ready for the challenge.
As I begin MHST 632, I am excited to further my understanding of health promotion planning and intervention, especially as this relates to how to best gather, synthesize, and critically appraise evidence, both in general and as it relates to my chosen HP topic. I am interested in exploring and understanding how to best engage my chosen population (persons with disabilities) given the associated range of ages, abilities, and available supports, and to learn if what I think matches what the best available evidence has determined. As always, I remain open to correction as a means of improving myself and my practice. I also remain nervous about a decided lack of evidence – mostly as this relates to accessibility (through Open Access articles or those available through my institution) as this may present a major barrier to my execution of evidence-informed practice (Yost et al., 2014). I am hopeful that a combination of (recent) research alongside personal and practical experience (as a parent of a child with a disability) can sufficiently inform my ongoing work, and produce a theoretically actionable approach to address, what I feel is, an issue worth attention.
MHST 632, here we GO!
References
Crawford, M. (2020). Ecological systems theory: Exploring the development of the theoretical framework as conceived by Bronfenbrenner. Journal of Public Health Issues and Practices, 4(2). https://doi.org/10.33790/jphip1100170
Hreha, J. (2023). What is the Socioecological Model in behaviour change? https://www.thebehavioralscientist.com/glossary/socioecological-model
Yost, J., Dobbins, M., Traynor, R., DeCorby, K., Workentine, S., & Greco, L. (2014). Tools to support evidence-informed public health decision making. BMC Public Health, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-728
Comentarios