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This essay will out line plans for a project based on Community Development (CD) principles to assess and address health inequalities within the Black African community. The chosen community to be involved with is the western part of Brooklet (South East London) which consists three blocks of high rise flats within the estate. There are approximately 600 families living In this area.
The reason for choosing this community Is of poor celestially to services and high number of unemployment. The alma of this project Is to empower the community to Identify their deeds and further sustain them, to facilitate the process for change and to build community strength (Lebanon 1987). Helping communities to gain power involves capacity building and community action. Alveolar(2009) argues that to understand how a more empowering approach to public health practice can be applied in a collective context, it is first Important to consider what a community Is This means thinking beyond the customary view of a community as a place where people live such as a village or neighborhood because such areas can be an aggregate of non- connected people (Alveolar 2009), but groups of people perceiving common needs ND problems that acquire a sense of identity focused around these problems.
Lewdest (2006) defines a community as a complex system of interrelationships woven across social deference, diverse histories and cultures and determined In the present by political and social trends. For the purposes of this assignment I will refer to my involvement with this community as the practitioner. The purpose of CD is identified issues and problems affecting community life, to develop and implement plans for change. CD Is defined as strategy for attainment of social policy goals concerned with the Roth and dignity of people and the promotion of equal opportunity.
It Is most needed In communities where social skills and resources are at their weakest; involves working with those most affected by poverty, unemployment, disability, inadequate housing and education and with those for reasons of class, income, race or sex are less likely than others to be or to feel involved and significant in local community life, Green & Tones (2010). Thus involving communities In developing their own agenda and working collectively to Improve the health of the community. Ant to attract new businesses, improve housing stock, reduce crime, improve education of their children or accomplish any number of tasks that will better the quality of life for its residents, and such goals fall under the umbrella of CD. To gain entry Into this community the practitioner will arrange two days of free condom distribution (provided free by the local Primary Care Trust) and free blood build trust by working with the formal and informal leadership.
By so doing Green & Tones (2010) suggest the practitioners seek commitment from community organizations and leaders to create processes for embroiling the community. The challenge here is for the practitioner to be prepared to learn from the people and abandon their expert role. Green & Tones (2010) stress that communication and listening skills are particularly important. WHY???????? Posters maybe placed around notice boards of schools, churches and pubs announcing the date of the first meeting.
The objective of this meeting is for the community to choose leaders in order to clarify roles and responsibilities for the project. Gibbon et al (2002) stated that leadership and participation are closely connected, because leadership requires a strong participant base Just as participation requires the direction and structure of throng leadership. The rationale for choosing leaders is to enlist their support in the initiatives needed to stimulate the local economy and manage local growth and also to educate them so that their vision is based on a realistic set of assumptions that may be showed among the key leadership.
Phillips & Pitman (2009) suggest that local business leaders are recruited since the business power structure is the only local interest group that has a continuing and consistent stake in local development policies and programs. At this stage, small groups will be formed headed by the chosen leaders. Only by participating in small groups can individual community members act on issues of general concern to the broader community.
Participation is a process by which people are enabled to become actively and genuinely involved in defining the issues of concern to them in making decisions about factors that affect their lives, in formulating and implementing policies, in planning, developing and delivering services and in taking action to achieve change (WHO, 2003). Each small group can have a leader who reports to an overall leader e. G. A local businessman or Pastor of a local church. The latter may have hegemonic power over the community.
Alveolar (2009) stated that this form of power is invisible and internalized such that it is structured into our everyday lives and taken for granted. The role of the overall leader is to schedule meetings but it will be the responsibility of every participant to attend meetings and contribute to the discussions. Uniform (2000) observed that no community building effort has a 100% likelihood of success; whether an effort will succeed depends upon many factors outside the control of the community residents.
The development of a community in part includes the building of the community’s social capacity conversely, the level of a community’s social capacity influences the way CD evolves for that specific community; it also influences the pace at which CD efforts may occur (Phillips & Pitman, 2009). The practitioner will ask group leaders to identify the community structures that already exist. Lebanon & Alveolar (2001) stated that organizational structures in a community include small groups such as committees, church and youth groups.
These are the elements which represent the ways in which people come together in order to socialize and address their concerns and problems, as the existence and level at which these organizations function is crucial to community inequalities by looking at what assets are present for development and what liabilities exist that need to be addressed in order for desired improvements to occur. The practitioner will use lists of groups that were set up initially to construct a timetable to visit groups for informal discussions to get to know the community better and identify key individual issues of concern.
The capacity of the community to immobile resources from within and the ability to negotiate resources from beyond s a sign off high degree of skill and organization (Goodwin et al, 1998). It is the practitioner’s responsibility to ensure that the community is empowered as empowerment presumes that identification of problems, solutions to the problems and action to resolve them are carried out by the community. This process assists communities to develop a sense of self-determination and capacity (Alveolar, 2009). The next task is for the focus groups to identify their needs.
Jackson (2002) defined health needs as essential painting a picture of the health needs of a given population at a given point in time. Union et al (2000) stated that assessing health needs with the aim of providing a more client oriented service will mean that we need to find out what clients want and what they think of the current service. Focus groups are asked to identify their needs of problems and list them in order of priority. Having identified the problems, they are invited to identify the possible solutions to these problems.
Culler (1977) considers a need for healthcare to exist when there is potential to improve health status or avoid reduction in it, but only if an intervention exists that can achieve positive outcomes. Green & Tones (2010) concludes that a need therefore, is determined not by the scale of the health problem, but by the ability of benefit. Need defined by experts is normative need as it compares individuals to against a desirable standard; and felt need is defined by lay people and is equated with once.
This kind of need may fail to recognize actual needs or else misrepresent once as needs Bradshaw (1972) observed. Semi structured interviews may also be used to facilitate, identify needs and possible solutions to the problems. Leaders must encourage individuals in their groups to participate in identifying those needs. Tricked (1987) says participation without a formal leader who takes responsibility for getting things done, dealing with conflict and providing a direction for the group can often lead to disorientation.
After the community has identified health needs community profiling may now be carried out by the practitioner and group leaders to highlight health needs. Union et al (2000) posits that the community being profiled must be involved in the process in order to avoid identifying of overt needs. This necessitates being familiar with the community’s local sources of information to develop the profile in partnership. This stage prompts the community to devise an action plan to meet the identified needs as the next level of activity.
The practitioner urges the community to clarify and priorities goals and set realistic targets. Groups are encouraged by the practitioner to begin their work by brainstorming. Phillips & Pitman (2009) state that once every proposal is considered, the community may invite representatives of sympathetic public and private funding agencies to provide input regarding proposals. With the proportioning their project list. This is when the community links with other people and organizations including partnerships, coalitions and voluntary alliances between community and others to assist the project address its issues.
The role of outside agents is important as it increasingly transforms power, relationships between the agents and the community, such that the community assumes increasing program authority Alveolar (2009). Participants assess the internal and external resources that are necessary and available to improve the present situation e. G. Technical assistance, equipment, land, finance or training. This includes a review of locally available resources and resources provided by an outside agent.