[Just received this conference information from the University
today...thought it would be of interest...]

BUILDING HEALTH PROMOTION THEORY FROM REFLECTIONS ON PRACTICE
'FROM THE BOTTOM UP'

20-21 October 1998
Trouville Hotel, Bournemouth
(being organised by Bournemouth University)


One of the difficulties in developing knowledge or evaluating actions in
health promotion practice (or in any other 'social work') is that the
dominant research paradigm is reductionist and attempts to find
cause-effect relations between these discrete, quantifiable 'variables'.
This paradigm makes important contributions to knowledge and action.

Many health promotion practitioners believe, though, that this is
insufficient to make sense of what health promotion is, and how its effec=
ts
should be evaluated. They argue that, by its nature, health promotion is
holistic, and needs to be viewed and evaluated as a whole.

At the same time, many researchers, funders and senior bureaucrats conten=
d
that health promotion practice is often more ideological than theoretical
-- practitioners claim that it 'works' or 'should be done' because 'it's
the right thing to do', but with little rigorous accounting for
what actually has been done.

The 'story/dialogue method' was created to bridge this chasm. It was
developed in a partnership between practitioners and researchers who were
frustrated equally with researchers whose more conventional methods and
assumptions often did not fit the 'reality' of practice, and with
practioners who risked losing resources for their work by failing to
articulate better practice-based theory. Turning Kurt Lewin's famous sayi=
ng
('there's nothing so practical as a good theory') on its head, the method
is based on the belief that there is nothing so theoretical as a good
practice!

Drawing from the works of critical educators such as Paulo Freire, critic=
al
social science, feminst theorists, international developers and qualitati=
ve
researchers, the story/dialogue method is based on the knowledge paradigm
sometimes described as 'constructivist'. This paradigm does not emphasize
'truth' so much as 'best understanding', which is created through cycles =
of
description, analysis, synthesis and action. Dialogue, rather than
statistical tests, is the principal means of analysis.

In this workshop, practitioners tell the story of what they did. The
stories are subjected to structured examination by participants for the
commonality of experience, and key lessons are drawn. These insights are
categorised, and the notes are made for theory development.

Attention is paid to the indicators that would tell us that we are
re-applying the theory which has developed from one story to a different
piece of health promotion practice. To do this, we have to be clear, at t=
he
same time of theory development, what the generalised benchmarks of good
practice are.

Finally, the arguments are developed for convincing others how achievemen=
t
of the benchmarks allows them to be confident that improvement in health
will result.

THE SPEAKER:
Ronald Labont=E9 - he has worked in health promotion, community developme=
nt,
public health policy development and health research/evaluation for
twenty-five years in a variety of government and NGO settings. He current=
ly
divides his time between teaching health promotion and community
development in universities in Canada and abroad, consulting to health
authorities in Canada, United States, Australia, New Zealand and Latin
America and undertaking independent Research.


CONFERENCE RATES:
2 Day Conference Rate only - =A3150.00
2 Day Conference Rate with 1 night (20 Oct) B&B - =A3190.00
2 Day Conference Rate with 2 nights (19 & 20 Oct) B&B - =A3230.00
Cheques should be made out to Bournemouth University.
To book your spot, please contact Ms. Sam Williams, Administrative
Assistant (IHCS Conferencing), Bournemouth University, Royal London House=
,
Christchurch Road, Bournemouth, BH1 3LT
Telephone: (01202)504 196 Fax: (01202) 504 194
E-mail: [log in to unmask]







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