佐藤, 由美

SATO, Yumi

[ABSTRACT] This study aimed to demonstrate the aspects community health workers’ empowerment in conducting health promotion activities in the community. We constructed a hypothetical framework to explain the empowerment of community health workers. Fourteen qualitative research articles（ 4 in English and 10 in Japanese） that described the changes in the thinking and behavior related to motivation and self-reliant attitude and behavior, and the factors influencing community health workers’ empowerment were identified from MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Japan Medical Abstracts Society Web version, and they were qualitatively and descriptively analyzed. The following nine categories of empowerment were identified: “Gaining motivation for activities by recognizing the need for activities,” “Expressing one’s opinion by revealing one’s self,” “Functioning with a sense of camaraderie in the organization,” “Becoming healthy by adjusting one’s lifestyle and activities,” “Expanding one’s activities in response to one’s self and residential status by using acquired knowledge and skills,” “Forming relationships with others through activities,” “Evaluating one’s activities and realizing their effects,” “Acquiring a sense of potential to act,” and “Acquiring a sense of fulfillment through activities.” The following five categories of factors influenced empowerment: “Opportunity to act,” “Place to act,” “Having a key person,” “Acceptance and cooperation from others,” and “Support from public health nurses.” Community health workers’ empowerment was characterized by expanding activities in response to residential and community status, by recognizing the need for activities and functioning with a sense of camaraderie with other community health workers while adjusting one’s behavior. Moreover, the present findings suggested that the formation of community health workers’ relationships with others while acquiring a sense of fulfillment and potential to act would facilitate health promotion in the community.