PH 320
Aka Community Building Assumptions: 1.Communities of people can develop capacity to deal with their own problems. 2.People want to change and can change 3.People should participate in making, adjusting, or controlling the major changes taking place within their communities 4.Changes in community living that are self-imposed or self- developed have a meaning and permanence that imposed changes do not. 5.A “holistic approach” can successfully address problems with which a “fragmented approach” cannot 6.Democracy requires cooperative participation and action in the affairs of the community, and people must learn the skills that make this possible. 7.Frequently, communities of people need help in organizing to deal with their needs.
No one method “Poison Ivy” story Just as communities differ, so do approaches to organizing Any effective method MUST: ◦ Be relevant (start with the people in the community) ◦ Include local participation ◦ Encourage empowerment United Farm Workers United Farm Workers
Initial organizer ◦ recognizes that a problem exists and decides to do something about it ◦ Gets things started ◦ Can be from within or outside of the community Grass-roots, citizen initiated, bottom-up Pernesse Seele and “Harlem Week of Prayer” from Road to Advocacy Top-down, outside-in
Organizers need: ◦ Cultural sensitivity, cultural competence (discussed last week), cultural humility Organizers need to know: ◦ Who is causing problem and why; how problem has been addressed in past; who supports and opposes idea of addressing problem; who could provide more insight Gatekeepers
Executive participants Leadership identification Recruitment ◦ Expanding constituencies Task Force ◦ individuals working on specific topic Coalition ◦ Multiple concerned agencies
Community building Needs assessment vs. mapping community capacity Community assets ◦ Primary building blocks Individual skills, local organizations or religious institutes ◦ Secondary building blocks Located in community but controlled by outsiders Schools, hospitals, larger nonprofits, gov agencies ◦ Potential building blocks Outside sources- information, funds
Criteria to consider when selecting priority issue ◦ Problem must be winnable ◦ Must be simple and specific ◦ Must unite members of organizing group ◦ Should affect many people ◦ Should be part of larger plan Goals written to serve as guide for problem solving
Alternate solutions exist for every problem ◦ Probable outcomes ◦ Acceptability to the community ◦ Probable long- and short-term effects ◦ Costs of resources
Implementing Evaluating Maintaining Looping Back
Important tool for community health professionals Health education – part of health promotion ◦ Often most effective when comes from the inside Susan Shinagawa, breast cancer survivor, from Road to Advocacy Health promotion – more encompassing than health education Program planning ◦ May or may not be associated with community organizing/building ◦ Process by which an intervention is planned