Douglas D. Perkins, Manuel García-Ramírez, Isabel Menezes, Irma Serrano-García, and Melissa Strompolis (USA, Spain, Portugal, Puerto Rico)
We introduce a special issue on public policy research, advocacy, and training by community psychologists that grew out of the Fifth International Community Psychology Conference held in Fortaleza, Brazil.
Read more...Democracy, Social Participation and Social Control of Public Policy in Brazil: The Experience of Forums for the Education of Young People and Adults of Brazil
Mirian Patricia Burgos, Joaquim Luís Coimbra, Pedro Ferreira (Portugal)
Peer Reviewed
O artigo apresenta o surgimento e a trajetória do movimento social dos Fóruns da Educação de Jovens e Adultos do Brasil (Fóruns da EJA do Brasil), a partir da década de 1990, como dispositivo de controle social exercido pela sociedade civil organizada frente às ações do Estado nesse campo.
This paper presents how the social movement of the Forums for the Education of Young People and Adults of Brasil (Forums EJA of Brazil) came to be and developed, from the 1990s on, as an instance of control of state actions in the field by organized groups of civil society.
Read more...J. Taylor Scott, J’Vonnah Maryman (USA)
Peer Reviewed
Community practitioners must leverage a variety of tools in order to promote and advocate for social change. Social media are relatively innovative tools for informing and mobilizing communities in an advocacy effort. As part of a coordinated effort, social media align well with the principles of community psychology by enabling individuals to contribute to participatory dialogue about social issues, collaborate on change efforts, and establish a sense of community. This article presents findings from an extensive literature review to serve as a resource for community practitioners on ways to enhance advocacy efforts with social media.
Read more...The Challenge of Equity in
Health Policies Aimed at the Roma Population in Spain
Manuel García-Ramírez, Marta Escobar-Ballesta, Tona Lizana, María-Jesús Albar (Spain)
Peer Reviewed
En este artículo abordamos la contribución de la psicología comunitaria en la formulación de políticas de salud pública transformadoras dirigidas al pueblo gitano. La brecha en salud entre la minoría gitana y el resto de la población en Europa, ha conducido a la Organización Internacional para las Migraciones a implementar el proyecto Equi-Health. Su finalidad es redefinir las políticas de salud dirigidas al pueblo gitano desde los principios de equidad y justicia social.
In this paper we address the contribution of the community psychology to the formulation of transformative public health policies for the Roma. The gap in health between the Roma and the rest of population in Europe has led the International Organization for Migration to implement the Equi-Health Project. Its aim is to redefine public health policies addressed to the Roma from the values of equity and social justice.
Read more...Community practice and the work of Landless Workers' Movement (MST) with children and adolescents in Ribeirão Preto/SP - Brasil
Ana Paula Soares da Silva, Juliana Bezzon da Silva, Leandro Amorim Rosa, Regiane Sbroion de Carvalho, Ana Cecília Oliveira Silva, Thaise Vieira (Brazil)
Peer Reviewed
O artigo relata a experiência de prática comunitária do LAPSAPE que, nos anos de 2007 a 2012, por solicitação do setor de educação do Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra – MST, realizou atividades em um assentamento de reforma agrária, localizado na cidade de Ribeirão Preto, Estado de São Paulo, Brasil. A atuação foi orientada pela perspectiva teórica e metodológica histórico-cultural, articulando conhecimentos da Psicologia do Desenvolvimento e Psicologia Social-Comunitária.
The aim of this article is to present the experience of community practice of LAPSAPE in an agrarian reform settlement, located in the city of Ribeirão Preto, State of São Paulo, Brazil. The practice was conducted, during the years 2007 to 2012, at the invitation of the Landless Workers Movement – MST. The cultural-historical psychological perspective and the link between Developmental Psychology and Community Psychology oriented the activities.
Read more...Irma Serrano-García and Eduardo A. Lugo-Hernández (Puerto Rico)
Peer Reviewed
For many years, psychology in Puerto Rico was considered an individual-level positivistic science with a neutral stance towards socio-political issues. However, during recent years psychologists on the Island have become more involved in policy issues. Initially this was the result of the pioneering work of some individuals. More recently, systematic efforts have been supported by research within the social-community psychology program at the University of Puerto Rico and by the Puerto Rico Psychology Association (PRPA). This article will:
Por muchos años la psicología en Puerto Rico se consideraba una ciencia positivista de intervenciones a nivel individual con una postura neutral hacia asuntos socio-políticos. Sin embargo, en años recientes los psicólogos/as en la Isla se han involucrado más en política pública. Inicialmente este fue el resultado del trabajo de algunos pioneros/as. Algunos esfuerzos sistemáticos han sido apoyados por investigaciones desde el Área Social-Comunitaria de la Universidad de Puerto Rico y por la Asociación de Psicología de P.R (APPR). En este artículo
Anti-stigma Practices as the Linchpin of Community Work in Mental Health
Pamela Grandón Fernández, Rafael Dresdner Vicencio, Marcelo Sanhueza Vallejos, Pamela Vaccari Jiménez (Chile)
Peer Reviewed
El estigma es la principal causa de sufrimiento en personas que reciben un diagnóstico psiquiátrico. Por esto el Centro de Rehabilitación Diurno “Luz de Luna” se dio a la tarea de organizar anualmente las Jornadas “anti-estigma”, cuyo objetivo fue generar un espacio de reflexión, debate y sinergia de experiencias sobre la forma de combatir el estigma y resguardar los derechos de las personas en salud mental.
Stigma is the main cause of suffering in people who receive a psychiatric diagnosis. Hence, the “Moonlight” Rehabilitation Center decided to annually organize the “anti-stigma” sessions, aimed to generate a reflection, debate and synergy space of experiences in order to fight stigma and protect the rights of people in mental health.
Read more...The construction of public policy in the field of drugs: Health standards, territorial pacification and low-threshold psychology
Simão Mata and Luís Fernandes (Portugal)
Peer Reviewed
O presente artigo centra-se sobre a recente construção duma política pública em Portugal no campo das drogas, cujos eixos fundamentais são a redução de riscos e minimização de danos (RRMD) e a descriminalização do consumo e da posse para consumo de todas as drogas ilícitas.
This paper focuses on the recent elaboration of a public policy on drugs in Portugal, the main axes of which are risk and harm reduction (RHR), together with the decriminalization of use and possession for use of all illicit drugs.
Read more...J’Vonnah Maryman, Melissa Strompolis, Kenneth I. Maton, Douglas D. Perkins (USA)
Peer Reviewed
Interest in social policy work has been on the rise in the Society for Community Research and Action (SCRA). SCRA’s Public Policy Committee aims to affect local, state, and national policy on topics relevant to community psychology through advocacy, collaboration, and capacity building.
Read more...Environmental racism and struggles for recognition of people in the Amazon forest
Alessandro de Oliveira dos Santos, Gustavo Martineli Massola, Luís Guilherme Galeão da Silva, and Bernardo Parodi Svartman (Brazil)
Peer Reviewed
Na Amazônia, os recursos naturais e as externalidades negativas produzidas no ambiente têm sido distribuídos ao longo do tempo conforme a raça-etnia das populações que vivem na região, estabelecendo uma relação inexorável entre acesso ao patrimônio ambiental, problemas ecológicos e desigualdades sociais. Neste artigo, discutimos as lutas por reconhecimento de direitos territoriais e pelo manejo de princípios ativos (água, gás natural, pedras preciosas, entre outros) pelas populações tradicionais da Amazônia (indígenas, ribeirinhos, quilombolas), sob a perspectiva do racismo ambiental.
In the Amazon, natural resources and the negative externalities produced in the environment have been distributed over time according to the race-ethnicity of people living in the region, establishing an inexorable link between access to environmental heritage, ecological problems and social inequalities. In this article, we discuss the struggles for recognition of territorial rights and the management of active ingredients (water, natural gas, precious stones, among others) by traditional Amazonian populations (indigenous, riveraine, maroon), from the perspective of environmental racism.
Read more...Melissa Strompolis, Megan Branham, Whitney Tucker, Heidi Aakjer (USA)
Peer Reviewed
Despite being largely preventable, unintentional injuries are the leading cause of pediatric mortality in the state of South Carolina, USA. Deliberate policy is needed to encourage transformative change in preventing childhood injuries. However, injury prevention advocates across the state have yet to formalize a collective message to effectively engage policymakers regarding injury prevention issues. To address this concern, this study surveyed Safe Kids South Carolina child injury prevention advocates as well as state legislators and legislative staff with the goal of assessing and growing current knowledge of injury prevention and capacity to engage in legislative advocacy.
Read more...Impact of Public Policy for the Promotion of Sex Education: The Portuguese Case
Ana Cristina Rocha and Cidália Duarte (Portugal)
Peer Reviewed
A Europa é, provavelmente, o continente com a mais longa experiência no domínio da educação sexual. Contudo, são as experiências desenvolvidas em território norte-americano que dominam os estudos de avaliação do impacto da educação sexual. Segundo o gabinete europeu da OMS, esta dominância deve-se, sobretudo, à ausência, na Europa, de um processo de publicação sistemática das experiências e resultados nacionais no contexto internacional. É neste âmbito que nos propomos a partilhar o caso de Portugal relativamente às políticas de promoção da educação sexual, com base numa perspetiva (bio)ecológica.
Europe has probably the greatest experience in sexuality education. However, in the most recent research on its impact evaluation, the majority of studies focused on experiences in US territory. According to the European Office of WHO, this dominance happens due to the absence in Europe of a systematic publishing process of national experiences and results on the international context. Therefore, we propose to share the case of Portuguese policies in promoting sexuality education, based on a (bio) ecological approach.
Read more...A key set of community psychology practice competencies directly or indirectly relate to policy. If community psychology sets our goals to create systemic community change then policy change is a critical and often under-reported component of our work.
Tom Wolff
In this article, I articulate ten important issues and concerns which Collective Impact fails to adequately acknowledge, understand, and address. These failings have serious consequences for the engaged communities. I welcome the community of activists and scholars who are engaged in coalitions, partnerships, and collaboratives to react, disagree and/or to add to the list of concerns.