Pathways to Resilience IV: Global South Perspectives

Fostering Resilience in Service Providers

Abstract #130
Title: Creating constructive change readiness through a resilience programme for employees during a restructuring process
Presenter: Elonya Niehaus (Institute for Transdisciplinary Development, South Africa)
Co-Author: Johann Roux
Introduction: Paper reflects on a resilience programme aimed at creating constructive change readiness during restructuring processes at three South African mines.
Methods: Resilience programme aims to create constructive change readiness through: i) Developing life skills relevant to career uncertainty as a proactive coping strategy ii) Developing social support by re-examining relationships with significant others and gaining skills in supporting each other  iii) Developing self-care practices through maintaining the four energy dimensions  Qualitative approach was used where the purpose was to understand people’s experiences pertaining to the resilience programme.  Focus group and individual interviews were done with employees, who participated in the programme, during their exit from the mine.
Findings:
-Resilient employees who are focused on production and safety during restructuring
-Perception of a caring organisation that is committed to building resilient community during adversity of job loss
-Life skills for constructive behaviour during career adversity
-Constructive mind-sets about future outside current workplace which contributes towards practices that sustain wellbeing  

Abstract #255
Title: Exploring Intersecting Interests and Collaborations between Youth Social Service Advocates and Healthcare Providers that serve individual and systemic goals
Presenter: Alicia Pointer (Youth Advocate Programs, Inc., USA)
Co-Author: Dorienne Silva
Introduction: Youth advocates and healthcare providers often work with similar high-risk communities with different foci. Healthcare providers focus on improving and maintaining the health of individuals. Youth Advocates address family needs and challenges.  Both strive for healthy communities, increasingly aware of the effects of stress on health and vice versa.
Methods: The authors, leadership/staff with a youth advocacy NGO and a pediatrician, all serve high-risk families. Together they will devise a survey for youth advocates identifying areas of need and concern facing marginalized youth and families that also impact the well-being of their communities. This survey will include qualitative recommendations for proactive, collaborative efforts for mutual benefit. It will be administered to youth advocates working in specified US regions and possibly in Ireland and Guatemala. The surveys, combined with focus groups of mixed-discipline practitioners, will inform recommendations for potential collaborative initiatives and strategies.
Findings: We will use qualitative data from those practicing in the advocacy and healthcare fields to make concrete, practical recommendations for creative and productive interdisciplinary collaborations. Our early interdisciplinary discussions found several health concerns including literacy, truancy, lead poisoning, poverty, substance abuse which have roots, remedies and consequences within at-risk families.

Abstract #210
Title: Building Community Health Representatives’ Skills as Agents of Resilience in Indigenous Communities
Presenter: Nicolette Teufel-Shone (University of Arizona, USA)
Co-Authors: Mae-Gilene Begay, Samantha Sabo, Michele Henson
Introduction: In the US, Community Health Representatives (CHRs) are federally funded to improve cross-cultural communication within the health care system serving Indigenous communities. CHRs build community capacity and advocate for social change. Perhaps their most significant role is teaching and supporting their clients and communities to be resilient and address challenges.
Methods: Objective: To build and reinforce CHRs’ skills in advocacy, public health policy and resilience. Methods: The Navajo Nation, Dine College (local tribal college) and the University of Arizona have partnered to create three integrated experiences to support personal and community resilience to improve health services. Activities include: 1) a culturally relevant public health certificate; 2) a summer health research and evaluation program that includes sessions on community and personal resilience; and 3) annual state-wide policy forums that convene CHRs from multiple indigenous communities to share strategies to advocate for social justice through policy change.
Findings: More than 100 CHRs have participated in one or more of these activities. CHRs have guided communities to develop and pass local policies to build local resilience to support health.  Conclusion: Through education, support and cohesion within the profession, CHRs have demonstrated their effectiveness as agents of resilience.