Possibilities and challenges in developing and implementing an empowerment-based school-intervention in a Swedish...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Promotion
• Community Health

Background:

• Multicultural areas with low socioeconomic status often face challenges in promoting healthy food and physical activity (PA).
• Empowerment-based interventions require careful consideration of participant needs and contextual factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe and critically reflect on the development and implementation of an empowerment-based school intervention for healthy food and PA.
• To identify possibilities and challenges in a Swedish multicultural, low-SES setting.

Main Methods:

• A 2-year empowerment-based intervention involving 54 seventh graders from a low-SES multicultural area.
• Intervention components included health coaching, health promotion sessions, and a Facebook group, developed through co-creation with participants.

Main Results:

• Participants valued peer collaboration and took ownership in co-developing the intervention, feeling respected and heard.
• Barriers included challenges in structured group health coaching and managing competing participant goals related to food and PA.

Conclusions:

• Successful implementation requires deep contextual understanding, openness to negotiation, and intervention adjustment.
• Co-developing interventions with participants fosters engagement but necessitates addressing complexities of shared decision-making and diverse needs.