Since 2021, the LaVal educational workshop has been supported by professionals from the field of social sciences and education. These professionals are committed to offer a multidisciplinary gaze, oriented towards a qualitative research style, to the trainees who participate in the workshop. In particular, Amalia Campagna, medical anthropologist, Matteo Volta, sociologist of the territory, and Diego Barberis, professional educator, are present as teaching assistants. The group is responsible for accompanying the students during the internship, participating in the activities proposed by the associations of the valley, acting as a link between the educational activities of the workshop and events of daily life in Valchiusella.
Socio-anthropological research
In addition to the activities of teaching assistants and guides of nursing students during their stay in Valchiusella, starting from 2022 Amalia Campagna and Matteo Volta have been carrying out field research in Valchiusella, aimed at investigating therapeutic itineraries within a rural-mountain context. Starting from a knowledge of the territory resulting from participation in LaVal Workshop since 2021, the aim of the research is contributing to the trainees education by analyzing the complex theme of health in Valchiusella. The research positioning is to seize experiences of care of family networks and associations in relation to the opportunities and limits present in the territorial context of the valley.
The role of family networks in health management in Valchiusella
During 2022, Amalia Campagna and Matteo Volta conducted qualitative research on the role of family networks in health management in Valchiusella. The research, carried out using qualitative research methodologies, such as participant observation and semi-structured interviews, aimed at studying how family relationships influence the experiences of illness and recovery in the valley. To this end, 46 qualitative interviews were conducted with 25 caregivers and 21 care recipients, involving the inhabitants of all the municipalities in the valley. The interviews were aimed at deepening the experience of people who have cared for family members with health problems and people who have or have had health problems, contextualising their experience in the dynamics of health-services in the area. The data from more than 60 hours of interviews, conducted with a population aged 24 to 86, were implemented by the anthropological tool of the field diary and five months of residence in the area, during which time participant observation and presence at local daily life activities and festivities were carried out. The results of the research were returned, anonymously, to the valley community during the public day of restitution of the LaVal Workshop activities during 2022.