Meanings of community

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Sociology
• Community Health

Background:

• Community participation is central to the World Health Organization's (WHO) Health For All strategy.
• Numerous 'Health For All' projects in the UK aim to foster community participation in health promotion.
• The concept of 'community' itself is complex and contested within social sciences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review social science and health literature definitions of 'community'.
• To explore how 'community' is understood by those implementing community participation in UK health promotion projects.
• To analyze the divergence between 'member' and 'non-member' constructions of community.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of social science and health definitions of community.
• Empirical data collection from four UK 'Health For All' projects.
• Analysis of meanings of 'community' as constructed by project implementers and participants.

Main Results:

• Implementers ('non-members') often construct 'community' based on assumed shared interests, not actual participant input.
• Participant ('member') perspectives, emphasizing shared experiences, differ significantly from non-member constructions.
• Operationalizing communities based on non-member assumptions frequently proves unfounded in practice.

Conclusions:

• A fundamental difference exists between how 'members' and 'non-members' define community.
• Recognition of these differing constructions is crucial for effective health promotion.
• Rethinking community participation in health is necessary, acknowledging these definitional discrepancies.