Partnerships in Health Promotion and the Place of Trust and Equality as Obstacles to Promoting Health

Frank Tesoriero

ISSUES ADDRESSED

Examining the complexity of health promotion partnerships in action rather than evaluating how they may fall short of an ideal will make a substantial contribution to effective health promotion.

METHODS

This paper examines some relevant literature on partnerships and reports on aspects of in-depth interviews undertaken as part of a qualitative study of a health promotion partnership in Adelaide, South Australia.

RESULTS

The data indicates that the partnership is characterised by mistrust and unequal power amongst the partners.

CONCLUSIONS

A reliance on ‘trust’ and ‘equality’ as ideal characteristics of partnerships would lead to the view that this partnership is failing. It is not. It has been sustained over a long period and is achieving some results. It is providing important lessons in managing mistrust and developing strategies to maximise power in different contexts of the partnership.

SO WHAT?

The literature generally agrees that there is little evidence about health promotion partnerships that contributes to effectiveness. Accepting the complexity and messiness of real partnerships and discovering the meanings partners place on their work is one way of enriching practitioner understanding of health promotion partnerships.

KEY WORDS

health promotion, partnership, trust, power

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Journal of the Australian Health Promotion Association (Inc)
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ISSN 1036-1073

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