This article discusses the concept of empowerment in health promotion, and the importance of evaluation in this context. It does so through the analysis of a territorial intervention, the Vila Paciência Initiative, implemented in the Western region of Rio de Janeiro. After a brief review of the literature about empowerment and its implementation and evaluation in the context of health promotion, we describe the multiple strategies utilized to promote community involvement in the construction of a Local Development / Health Promotion program. We emphasize the evaluation process, which is structured in three complementary levels: the Community Diagnosis, its results and implications; the study of interventions developed by the community residents, capacitated with a participative methodology for planning and development of local action (Problem Solving for Better Health); and the systematization of stories and depositions of participants about their experiences on the program. The limitations, challenges and perspectives of this process are discussed, with the intention of contributing to a better understanding of the importance of evaluation in the personal strengthening of stakeholders, and their collective trajectory towards community empowerment.
Health Promotion; Local development; Evaluation; Empowerment; Participatory techniques
