Nonprofit organization
Action Network Against Malnutrition
The third seminar, "Let's look for positive deviance. Solutions are hidden - Let's think about local health issues from a different lens," which has been held annually since 2020 at the Teikyo University Graduate School of Public Health, was held on June 28, 2022.
The Posi-Devi method is a qualitative method that focuses on successful exceptions in solving problems that seem unsolvable. It is a problem-solving approach that focuses on outliers, which are statistically exceptional values, and explores why the exceptional values occurred, leading to results by sharing the factors behind the success within the community. Since 2000, I have been giving lectures on this method as a part-time lecturer in Teikyo SPH's "Community Health Science" course, and this year's lectures have concluded. In the lectures, we learned the definition of Posi-Devi, as well as the procedures and examples, and then carried out group exercises.
We also conducted a follow-up training for the previous lecture. This was a case-based exercise to learn the procedure in more depth, called "Practice of Posi-Devi," specifically, identifying the problem to be solved, setting indicators and identifying data, deciding on Posi-Devi individuals and groups, identifying unusually successful actions and methods among the target individuals and groups, and survey design. The training was aimed at students (including graduates) who have previously studied Posi-Devi through "Community Health Studies," and was planned and implemented at the student's initiative. The next training is scheduled to be held at Teikyo University Itabashi Campus for two days (2 hours x 2 days) in early September 2022.