Vulnerability and empowerment: Participatory approaches to health promotion with refugees (EMPOW)

脆弱性是公共卫生中的一个关键概念，有助于确定需要特别支持和保护的群体。然而，在实际应用中，这一概念呈现出矛盾的效果，因为它往往被用作重申不平等权力关系的标签，忽视了群体内部的异质性，同时低估了群体(成员)的作用。赋权项目旨在通过特别关注个人和集体在机构和赋权方面的能力，进一步发展脆弱性概念的理论基础。选择了基于社区的参与性研究(CBPR)方法，让难民作为合作伙伴和同行研究人员参与进来。为了满足强迫移徙研究的“双重要求”，这是在这一特定领域形成的一项伦理原则，这项研究的目的是根据各自的“最新情况”产生科学知识，同时努力通过改善有关社区的状况使其受益。在多地点研究设计中，CBPR案例研究在三个德国城市进行，在这些城市中，以合作的方式开发了参与式健康促进方法。难民以及其他社区伙伴(包括向难民提供保健和社会服务的社区组织)都参与了研究的所有阶段，包括对研究结果的跨案例分析。在研究股的背景下(公共部门行动方案)，提高妇女地位分项目将认识论和方法论的重点放在难民的立场和参与上。各种(学术和社区)合作伙伴的观点和专业知识将以系统的方式进行三角划分，以产生新的见解。因此，Empow承诺产生关于与健康有关的脆弱性和赋权过程的新知识，以及关于“仁慈的他人”形式的新知识，即善意地将难民构建为帮助和支持关系中的“他者”，这种情况也可能出现在研究关系中。教育方案与研究单位的其他分项目合作，后者a)也采用定性和参与性研究方法(例如PROREF)，b)其研究工具和结果可用作同行研究人员培训的教材(例如大型)，c)还发展关于“其他”的理论(例如其他)和/或d)研究与研究方案类似的主题、小组和环境，其研究问题将更具体地定义为参与性研究过程的一部分。

Vulnerability is a key concept in public health, facilitating the identification of groups in need of special support and protection. However, in its practical application, the concept unfolds ambivalent effects as it tends to be used as a label reinscribing unequal power-relations, neglecting within-group heterogeneity while underestimating the agency of (members of) the group. The EMPOW project aims to develop the theoretical foundations of the concept of vulnerability further by paying particular attention to individual and collective capabilities for agency and empowerment. A community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach is chosen and refugees are involved as partners and peer researchers. In order to meet the „dual imperative“ of forced migration research, an ethical principle developed in this particular field, the study aims to generate scientific knowledge according to the respective ‘state of the art’ while at the same time striving to benefit the communities involved by improving their situation. In the multi-sited study design, CBPR case studies are conducted in three German cities where participatory approaches to health promotion are developed in a collaborative fashion. Refugees as well as further community partners (including community-based organizations providing health and social services to refugees) are involved in all phases of the research including the cross-case analysis of study findings. In the context of the research unit (PH-LENS), the EMPOW sub-project places an epistemological and methodological focus on the standpoint and participation of refugees. The perspectives and expertise of the various (academic and community) partners will be triangulated in a systematic way to generate novel insights. EMPOW thus promises to produce new knowledge about health-related vulnerability and processes of empowerment, as well as about forms of “benevolent othering”, i.e. well-meaning constructions of refugees as an “other” in helping and support relationships which may also occur in research relationships. EMPOW cooperates with other sub-projects of the research unit, who a) also apply qualitative and participatory research methods (e.g. PROREF), b) whose study instruments and results may be used as teaching material in the peer researcher training (e.g. LARGE), c) who also develop theory on “othering” (e.g. OTHER) and/or d) who investigate similar topics, groups and settings as the EMPOW case studies whose research questions will be defined more specifically as part of the participatory research process.