title: Community as locus for health formal and non-formal education: the significance of ecological and collaborative research for promoting health literacy.
abstract: The World Health Organization (2002) considers that a balance between government, community, and individual action is necessary for health education and promotion, recognizing that non-governmental organizations, local groups, and community institutions are central in this process. This argument reinforces the idea that individuals should be empowered and encouraged to make use of accurate health-related information. This paper highlights the potential of a socio-political perspective for the development of health literacy within children and adolescents and presents two studies conducted in two daily life contexts: a community organization and a school. Both studies are based on methodological pluralism and collaborative research approaches and explore the promotion of health knowledge in formal and informal settings. Study 1 is based on a mixed methodology, using focus group discussions and questionnaires with children and youth with chronic diseases to explore the perceived impact of their participation in support associations. Study 2 presents four intensive case-studies in schools where adolescents used community profiling, a participatory research methodology, to explore health rights and access to healthcare in both a historical and prospective vision. The results enable a deeper understanding on how powerful tool ccommunity resources can be for individual and collective empowerment on health issues.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Estudos Sociais, Universidade de Coimbra , Coimbra , Portugal.
authors.forename: Sofia C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Pais
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigação e Intervenção Educativas, Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação, Universidade do Porto , Porto , Portugal.
authors.forename: Mariana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigação e Intervenção Educativas, Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação, Universidade do Porto , Porto , Portugal.
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Menezes
keywords: children and adolescents; collaborative approaches; formal and non-formal education; health literacy; methodological pluralism