A journey towards partnership: The participatory process for developing a training program

Abstract

This thesis examines the participatory process I undertook in partnership with the members of the Aboriginal Health Promotion team working within the Territory Health Services to develop a training program that would build on and develop the health promotion skills and knowledge of the Aboriginal Health Promotion Officers to enable them to support primary health providers and Aboriginal people incorporate health promotion principles into their own work and community activities. As researcher I explore the participatory process; analyse the key issues resulting from the process: and extract from the data a set of principles to guide our practice. The training process was guided by the principles and practice of adult education, participatory research, health promotion and primary health care; all of which place a high value on the priorities and culture of the learner, and necessitate mutual respect, ongoing dialogue, and reflection within the learning and work environments. During the training development process we moved through three key stages: building relationships; analysing skills; and formal recognition of skills. The data shows that before we could begin to develop a meaningful training process we needed time to develop strong relationships within the team and to clarify roles within the workplace and the community; and to provide a high level of support for the participants skill development and way of working. Finally the research provides a set of principles for providing support within the workplace and guidelines for developing working partnerships.