CHN 2 Module 4: Community Organizing

Community Participation

• people as the center of any development effort

• plan and act to implement their solutions

• create and maintain organization in support of these efforts

• evaluate the effects and adjust in goal and collective action

Community Organizing

• social development methodology

• facilitate the process of forming and sustaining self reliant and self determining communities

• for motivating, enhancing and seeking wider community participation in decision making in activities

• emphasis on decision making and problem solving skills

Phases in Community Organizing

1. preparatory phase

2. organizational phase

3. education and training phase

4. intersectoral collaboration phase

5. phase out

Preparatory phase

1. Area selection

2. community profiling

3. entry in the community

area selection

• choosing and prioritizing areas'

  • is the community in need of assistance

  • do the community members feel the need to work together to overcome a specific health problems

  • geographically isolated and disadvantage area

Community profiling

• once are has been selected, look for a contact person

• contact person must be known and accepted, and will compose the core group who will assist the nurse

• provide an overview of demographic characteristics and health related services and facilities, this will serve as the initial data base

Entry in the community

• basic information about the are in relation to the cultural practices and lifestyle of the people must be known to establish rapport

guidelines in conducting integration work

1. recognize the role and position of local authorities

2. adapt a lifestyle in keeping with that of the community

3. choose a modest dwelling

4. avoid raising expectation of the people. have a clear objective and limitations

5. participate directly in production process

6. make house calls and seek out people where they usually gather

7. participate in some social activities

organizational phase

1. social preparation

2. spotting and developing potential leaders core group formation

3. setting up a community organization

social preparation

• paves the way for the nurse to be introduced into the community signals the start of social preparation

spotting and developing of potentials leaders

• nurse must gain the trust and respect of the community

• leaders are not necessarily to be highly educated or belonging to an affluent family

• leaders must be able to identify with, understand, and articulate effectively the problems

• willingness to work for desired change

core group formation

• democratic and collective leadership

• planning and assuming tasks for the formation of a community-wide organization

• handling and resolving group conflicts

• critical thinking and decision-making process

• ideally, sectors are well represented

Setting up the community organization

• it will facilitate wider participation and collective action on community problems

• nurse makes sure that there is maximum participation and control by the members

• working committees will be created, where the nurse will assist in laying out the plans

Education and training phase

• to strengthen the organization and develop its capability to attend to the community’s basic health needs

  • Conducting community diagnosis

  • Training of community health workers

  • health services and mobilization

  • leadership formation activities

conducting community diagnosis

• make profile of local health situation that will serve as basis of health programs and services

• nurse assist the people in developing a plan and in the actual conduct of community diagnosis

training of community health workers

• the community will decide who will be trained as community health workers

• the nurse facilitates the conduct of training needs assessment

health services and mobilization

• take lead in undertaking activities that will solve the problems of the community

Leadership-formation activities

• process of developing community leaders in a continuous and sustained process

• activities: meetings, assessment, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of activities

• Mastering skills: organizing, Human relations development or supervisory skills

• training may include: financial and project/program management

Intersectoral collaboration phase

• the need for resources-material, human, financial - will have to be sourced externally.

• assistance and support in any form can be funneled into the organization through collaborations

Phase out

• the nurse gradually prepares for turn-over of work and develops a plan for monitoring and subsequent follow up of the organization’s activities until the community is ready for full disengagement