Measuring changes in empowerment among low-income parents participating in a CBPR project

Introduction: Communities for Healthy Living (CHL) used a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) approach to understand and address childhood obesity among low-income children. CHL's Community Advisory Board (CAB), which consisted of predominantly Head Start parents, was actively involved in the research process and was the project's decision making body. Empowering participants to have increased control over their lives is a core principle of CBPR. This study examined changes in CAB member empowerment during their participation on the board. Methods: Eighteen CAB members participated in CHL for two years and completed a survey measuring individual and community empowerment at three time points. Individual and community empowerment sub-scales, from a previously validated scale were used to assess perceived control over decisions that affect the individuals' life (Individual Empowerment) and the individuals' perceived control over decisions that affect their community (Community Empowerment). Results: Significant increases in the CAB members' Individual Empowerment [F(2,16)=3.56, p=.053] and Community Empowerment [F(2,16)=12.39, p<.001] between the three times of measurement were observed. Pair wise comparisons indicated that Individual (Mean: 3.47 vs. 3.78, p<.05) and Community Empowerment (Mean: 3.19 vs. 3.74, p<.01) increased significantly between time 1 and 2 and between time 1 and 3; no significant changes were identified between time 2 and 3. Conclusions: The results suggest that through participation in CHL, CAB members experienced an increase in empowerment. CHL effectively engaged CAB members in a CBPR project to address childhood obesity, which led to increased empowerment, fulfilling one of the core principles of CBPR.