Abstract
Empowerment is a concept that has been much used and discussed for a number of years. However, it is not always explicitly clarified what its central meaning is. The present paper intends to clarify what empowerment means, and relate it to the goals of health promotion. The paper starts with the claim that health-related quality of life is the ultimate general goal for health promotion, and continues by briefly presenting definitions of some central concepts: “welfare” “health” and “quality of life”. Several suggestions as to what empowerment is are then discussed: autonomy, freedom, knowledge, self-esteem, self-confidence, and control over health or life. One conclusion of this discussion is that empowerment can be seen as a complex goal which includes aspects of the three central concepts welfare, health and quality of life. To the extent that the empowerment goals aimed at are health-related, it is concluded that empowerment is a legitimate goal for health promotion. But empowerment is not only a goal, it can also be described as a process or as an approach. This process, or approach, in a fundamental way involves the participants in problem formulation, decision making and action, which means that the experts have to relinquish some of their control and power.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bandura A. (1982). Self-Efficacy Mechanism in Human Agency. American Psychologist 37(2):122–147
Boorse C. (1977). Health as a Theoretical Concept. Philosophy of Science 44:542–573
Brülde, B.: 1998, The Human Good [dissertation]. Göteborg, Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis
Brülde B. (2000a). On How to Define the Concept of Health: A Loose Comparative Approach. Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy 3:305–308
Brülde B. (2000b). More on the Looser Comparative Approach to Defining ’Health’: A Reply to Nordenfelt’s Reply. Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy 3:313–315
Bru¨lde, B. and P.-A. Tengland: 2003, Ha¨lsa och Sjukdom En begreppsling utredning. Lund: Studentlitteratur
Culver C.M., Gert B. (1982). Philosophy in Medicine. Oxford, Oxford, U P
Dworkin G. (1988). The Theory and Practice of Autonomy. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press
Eklund, L.: 1999, From Citizen Participation Towards Community Empowerment. Academic Dissertation, University of Tampere Tampere
Freire P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York, Continuum
Gibson C. (1991). A Concept Analysis of Empowerment. Journal of Advanced Nursing 16:354–361
Laverack G. (2004). Health Promotion Practice. Power and Empowerment. London, Sage
Naryan, D. (ed.): 2002, Empowerment and Poverty Reduction: A Sourcebook. Washington: The World Bank
Nordenfelt L. (1993). Quality of Life, Health and Happiness. Aldershot, Avebury Press
Nordenfelt L. (1995). On the Nature of Health. Dordrecht, Reidel
Parfit D. (1984). Reasons and Persons. Oxford, Clarendon Press
Pörn, I.: 1984, ‘An Equilibrium Model of Health’, in: I.␣Lindahl, and Nordenfelt, L. (eds.), Health, Disease and Causal Explanations in Medicine. Dordrecht: Reidel, pp. 3–9
Raeburn J., Rootman I. (1998). People-Centered Health Promotion. Chichester, Wiley
Rappaport, J.: 1981, ‘In Praise of a Paradox: A Social Policy of Empowerment over Prevention’, American Journal of Community Psychology 9(1), 1–25
Rappaport J. (1985). The Power of Empowerment Language. Social Policy 16, 215–221
Rissel C. (1994). Empowerment: The Holy Grail of Health Promotion? Health Promotion International 9(1):39–47
Rodwell C. (1996). An Analysis of the Concept of Empowerment. Journal of Advanced Nursing 23:305–313
Rogers C. (1951). Client-centered Therapy. Boston, Houghton Mifflin
Rogers C. (1961). On Becoming a Person. Boston, Houghton Mifflin
Rogers C. (1977). The Person-centered Approach and the Oppressed. In: Rogers C. (eds), Carl Rogers on Personal Power. New York, Delacorte, pp. 105–114
Ryle, G.: 1971, ‘Knowing that and Knowing How’, in: Collected papers, Vol. II Collected Essays 1929–1968. New York: Barnes & Noble
Sen A. (1999). Development as Freedom. Oxford, Oxford University Press
Swift, C. and G. Levin: 1987, ‘Empowerment: An Emerging Mental Health Technology’, Journal of Primary Prevention 8(1&2), 71–94
Tengland, P.-A.: 2001, Mental Health: A Philosophical Analysis. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers
Tengland, P.-A.: 2006, `Medicine: Health Care and Philosophy’, The goals of Health Work quality of life, Health and Welfare (2006) 9: 155–167
Tones K. (1997). Health Promotion: Empowering Choice. In: Myers L., Midence K. (eds), Adherence to Treatment in Medical Conditions. London, Harewood Academic Publishers, pp. 133–160
Vickridge R., Ayub R. (2003). Participation and Empowerment. In: MacDonald T.H. (eds), The Social Significance of Health Promotion. London, Routledge, pp. 43–65
Wallerstein, N.: 1992, ‘Powerlessness, Empowerment and Health: Implications for Health Promotion Programs’, Behavior change 6(3), 197–205
Wallerstein N., Bernstein E. (1988). Empowerment Education: Freire’s Ideas Adapted to Health Education. Health Education Quarterly 15(4):379–394
WHO: 1948, Official Records of the World Health Organization, 2, 100
WHO (1986). Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. WHO, Geneva
WHO (1998). Health Promotion Glossary. WHO, Geneva
Zimmerman M.A., Rappaport J. (1988). Citizens Participation, Perceived Control and Psychological Empowerment. American Journal of Community Psychology 16:725–750
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Bengt Brülde, Lennart Nordenfelt and two anonymous reviewers for valuable comments on earlier versions of this text.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tengland, PA. Empowerment: A goal or a means for health promotion?. Med Health Care Philos 10, 197–207 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11019-006-9027-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11019-006-9027-1