CHAPTER 6: COMMUNITY

EMPOWERMENT
INTRODUCTION
Basic component of community empowerment: the community defines its own
agenda
PERSEPCTIVES OF COMMUNITY HEALTH PARTNERSHIPS

Communities solve their problems with help from experts

Capacity building: may be increased by a communitys level of commitment
and involvement;
May allow them to gain knowledge, learn skills, and gain confidence to
improve their health
Primary health care: providing essential health care based on the needs of
the community, emphasizing health and well-being as a fundamental right for
all

EMPOWERMENT THROUGH COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP

Community participation: a social process involving people from specific

geographic localities who share common values in identifying their needs
3 approaches to community participation:
o Medical approach: focused on curing disease and is controlled by the
medical profession
o Health services approach: mobilizes people to take an active role in
the delivery of services based on modifying unhealthy behaviors
o Community development approach: people are involved in the
decision-making process to improve health; grassroots in which
members within the community determine what health care services
should be provided more consistent with primary care
Empowerment: an active process that is nonjudgmental and characterized
by motility; involves choices and effective participation

TRANSFORMING COMMUNITY THROUGH EMPOWERMENT

Empowerment is an avenue for communities to gain control of resources and

transform inequities of power through social change
Four characteristics of an empowered community:
o Faith in people
o Trust established through dialogue
o Hope in positive transformations benefiting the community as a whole
o Discussion grounded in critical thinking without fear of repercussions
by those who are in power

EMPOWERING A COMMUNITY THROUGH PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH

Collaboration between health professional and community members

Participatory research: a form of emancipatory inquiry that address
inequities and injustices in health and society
Emancipatory process: related to critical theory and feminist theory
The goal of participatory research is social change
6 core principles of participatory research
o The participants in the research project are the ones who determine
the research agenda
o The research project should be one that benefits the community as a
whole and allows community members to make informed decisions and
act collectively
o The relationship between health care experts and community members
should be a collaborative effort based on the principles of shared
dialogue
o Community members should have access to all info and knowledge
from which they might normally be excluded
o The process should be democratic and empower the participation of a
wide range of community members
o Community members and the researchers should strive to achieve
mutual goals

ESSENTIALS OF HEALTH PROMOTION

Encourage a change in personal and health-promoting behaviors

Create an environment that promotes health
Empower people to change their lifestyle, behaviors, or environment that
influences their lifestyle