COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson, the leaners shall be able to:-

1. Define a community
2. Define community participation
3. Discuss the aims of community participation
4. Discuss the differences between community participation and involvement
5. Determine the community participation process
6. Identify factors that influence community participation

WHAT’S A COMMUNITY?

It is a social entity made of people or families who have the following characteristics:

1. Live in the same geographical area

2. Share common goals or problems
3. Share similar development aspirations
4. Have similar interests or social network or relationship at local level
5. Have a common leadership and tradition
6. Have common system of communication
7. Share some resources-water, school, etc
8. Are sociologically and psychologically linked.

COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION DEFINITION

A process by which a community mobilizes its resources, initiates and takes responsibility for its
own development activities and share in decision making for and implementation of all other
development programmes for the overall improvement of its health status.

Community participation can be loosely defined as the involvement of people in a community

in projects to solve their own problems. People cannot be forced to ‘participate’ in projects
which affect their lives but should be given the opportunity where possible.

This is held to be a basic human right and a fundamental principle of democracy.

Community participation is especially important in emergency sanitation programmes where
people may be unaccustomed to their surroundings and new sanitation facilities.
 The key to the successful organization of PHC is community participation, through the process;
the people gain greater control over the social, political, and economic and environmental
factors determining their health.

AIMS OF COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION

1. The community develops self-reliance

2. The community develops critical awareness
3. The community develops problem solving skills

TYPES OF PARTICIPATION

1. Passive – (Manipulation)
2. Active – (consultation)
3. Involvement – (Community control)

PASSIVE PARTICIPATION
Passive participation includes complete cooperation on the part of thecommunity in the
implementation of the program to achieve the objectives and targets set for the program

Does not ask of the community contributions in terms of resources,

cash, or labor

In this type of participation, individuals or families are mere spectators

ACTIVE PARTICIPATION
In this type of participation, they may be carrying out some tasks in a programme but are not
involved with the final decision making in what is to be done. The final decision in such cases
are made by people who are not members of the community in such situations, the community
does not develop a sense of self-reliance.

Community participation can take place during any of the following activities:

1. Needs assessment
Expressing opinions about desirable improvements, prioritizing goals and negotiating
with agencies
2. Planning
Formulating objectives, setting goals, criticising plans
3. Mobilising
 Raising awareness in a community about needs, establishing or supporting
organisational structures within the community
4. Training
participation in formal or informal training activities to enhance communica tion,
construction, maintenance and financial management skills
5. Implementing
engaging in management activities; contributing directly to construction, operation and
maintenance with labour and materials; contributing cash towards costs, paying of
services or membership fees of community organisations
6. Monitoring and evaluation
Participating in the appraisal of work done, recognizing improvements that can be made
and redefining needs

COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AND INVOLVEMENT

In this type of participation, the community is involved in all aspect of a programme.
This type of approach enables the community to participate willingly to improve its own health
status.
It is important for a community to participate in every stage of the health programme for it to
have long lasting results i.e., thinking, planning, acting and evaluating.
Community participation and involvement empowers or enables the community to make
informed decisions in matters affecting their health or development

INVOLVEMENT
This entails involving the community in planning, implemention,management and evaluation of
programmes.

This is important because, it contributes towards a feeling of responsibility and involvement in

such a programme. In other wards we could refer to the process as that by which active
partnership is established between a developmental programme within the community and the
community itself.

Thus community participation and involvement contributes to the attainment of community

responsibility and accountability over all development programmes. Therefore preventing a
community from alienating itself from such a programme. The community develops self-
reliance and social control over its own infrastructure.
DIMENSIONS OF COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION

Community participations have three dimensions;

1. Involvement of all those affected in decision making about what should be done and
how
2. Mass contribution to the development efforts i.e to the implementation of decision
3. Sharing in the benefits of the programme

Stakeholder analysis

It may not be possible for each and every member of the affected population to contribute to a
programme equally but attempts can be made to identify key groups and individuals that can
be actively involved. A useful tool to assess whom the programme will affect (positively or
negatively) and therefore who should have a stake in the programme is stakeholder
analysis. This should be used to identify key stakeholders and their interests.

Stakeholders may include different people from within the affected population, as well as local
authorities and agencies.

Stakeholders are divided into-

1. primary (from within the affected community),

2. secondary (local authorities, agencies, etc.)
3. external (other interested parties).

The likely effect or impact of the programme on each stakeholder is indicated as either
positive or negative. The influence of these stakeholders over the current project is ranked
between 1 and 6; 1 for maximum influence and 6 for minimum influence. The importance of
each stakeholder for programme success is also ranked between 1 and 6, 1 being most
important. This ranking can be done by a group of agency staff at the onset of programme, or
by a group of different stakeholders, however the process should be as objective as
possible.
COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS
1. Top-down – approach
2. Bottom-up – approach

TOP-DOWN – APPROACH
IN traditional approach health care planning , the decisions are made by senior persons in
health services, the so called “experts”.
Research may be carried out through surveys to what the community thinks or believes to be
the problem, but in the end it’s usually the health workers who makes the decisions on what
goes into the programme based on medically-defined needs.

Traditional education is often indoctrinating .We make decisions and expect them to follow.
This is always the case and you will need to look carefully to find out what is really going on. All
the decision-making and priorities are set by the external agency.

BOTTOM-UP – APPROACH
In this approach members of the community make decisions.

FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE THE DEGREE OF COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION POSITIVELY

1. Relevance and accountability
2. Education status of the community
3. Community infrastructure (including communication network)
4. Economic factors
5. Social and cultural factors
6. The level of intersectoral collaboration
7. Good leadership
8. Motivated community
9. A sense of ownership
10. Locally available resources

THE PARTICIPATORY METHODS USED IN RAPID ASSESSMENT OF SITUATIONS

1. Daily routine schedule

2. Seasonal calendar
3. Time trends
4. Direct observation
5. Transect walk
6. Venn diagram
7. Key informants interviews of individuals from the community
8. Focus group discussion (FGD)

BENEFITS FROM COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION

Justification for community participation come from a variety of sources, including lessons
learned from the failures of conventional top- down planning as well as the achievement of
community based programmes.

THE NEED FOR A COMMUNITY APPROACH

The need to shift the emphasis from the individual to the community. This is because many
influences on a behavior are at the community level and not under the control of individuals,
these include;
1. Social pressure from other people through norms,
2. Shared culture and the local social economic situation.

Even when the influences are at the national level, it is often through pressure from
communities that governments will change. Furthermore government budgetary resources can
be complemented by the efforts which can be made within local communities, but they go well
beyond this.

DRAWING ON LOCAL KNOWLEDGE

Communities often have detailed knowledge about their surroundings. It makes sense to
involve communities in making plans because they know local conditions and the possibilities
for change

MAKING PROGRAMMES LOCALLY RELEVANT AND ACCEPTABLE

If the community is involved in choosing priorities and deciding on plans, it is much more likely
to become involved in the programme and take up the services.

DEVELOPING SELF-RELIANCE, SELF CONFIDENCE, EMPOWERMENT AND PROBLEM – SOLVING

SKILLS.

The enthusiasm that comes from community participation can lead to a greater sense of self-
reliance for the future e.g. communities are usually willing to participate in water a programme
because they see that benefits will come.
The feeling of community solidarity and self-reliance from participating in decisions over, their
own future through a water project can lead to future activities.

BETTER RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HEALTH WORKERS AND COMMUNITY Community

participation leads to a better relationship between the community and the health workers
instead of a servant master relationship, there is trust and partnership.

PRIMARY HEALTH CARE

The Alma-Ata declaration on PHC in 1978 extended the notion of appropriate health care
beyond that of simply providing decentralized services, it also considered the need to tackle
economic and social causes of ill-health.
Health education and community participation are essential ingredients of PHC (WHO).

TYPES OF COMMUNITY GROUPS

1. SELF-HELP GROUPS

Run by people for their own benefits e.g. co- operatives, church saccos etc

2. PRESSURE GROUPS
A group of self-appointed citizens taking action on what they see to be the interests of
the whole community putting on pressure to improve the school, get garbage collected,
do something about a dangerous road etc.

3. TRADITIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

E.g Njuri Njeke in (Meru), these are well established groups, usually meeting the needs
of a particular section of the community, others rotary, club, mothers union parent-
teacher associations, and church groups.

4. WELFARE GROUPS

Exist to improve the welfare of a group; merry go round, feeding programmes

etc.