Summary

In this Study Session, you have learned that:

• The concept of community participation involves individuals, or community has taking part in decisions which affect them or their community's health status.
• The community could be defined as organised groups of people who share a sense of belonging, beliefs, norms, and leadership and who usually interact within a defined geographical area.
• Community participation is defined as "Members of a community taking part in determining, planning, developing, implementing and evaluating programs and actions which affect their lives and the life of their community."
• We may say communities are participating when they are actively involved in the following activities:
  • The assessment of the situation/needs.
  • Problem identification.
  • Priority setting and making decisions.
  • Sharing responsibility for the planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluation.
• Community participation has many benefits in the development of successful community-based health education and health promotion programs. Some of them are the following:
  
  • It facilitates successful program development and implementation.
  • Ensure community motivation.
  • Help in developing locally acceptable strategies.
  • Ensure program sustainability.
• The principles of community participations are the following:
  
  • Develop a clear goal.
  • Understand community's socio-cultural and political condition.
  • Establish good relationship.
  • Recognise and respect community diversity.
  • Identify and use the community's assets.
  • Community participation aims at improving health status.
  • Give appropriate feedback and recognition.
• The stages or phases in creating meaningful community participation process are the following:
  
  • Initiation.
  • Planning.
  • Designing.
  • Implementation and
  • Maintenance.