A Healthy Community

Medical Laboratory Science

College of Allied Medical Professions
Lyceum of the Philippines University - Batangas
 COMMUNITY
üComes from the Latin munus, which
means the gift, and cum, which
means together, among each other.

üSo community literally means “to

give among each other.”
 A. CHARACTERISTICS
1. A group of people
2. A definite locality
3. Community sentiment
4. Naturality
5. Permanence
6. Similarity
7. Wider ends
8. Total organized social life
9. A particular name
10. Size of community
11. Concrete nature
 1. A group of people
• A group of people is the most fundamental or
essential characteristic or element of
community
• Community always refers to a group of people
(small or large)
• When a group of people live together and share
a common life and bound by a strong sense of
community consciousness, a community is
formed
• A group of people is the first pre-requisite of
community.
 2. A definite locality
• Definite locality is the next important
characteristic of a community because
community is a territorial group
• A group of people forms a community only when
they reside in a definite territory
• The territory need not be fixed forever
• A group of people like nomadic people may
change their habitations
• When communities are settled, a strong bond of
unity and solidarity is derived from them, living in
a definite locality
 3. Community sentiment
Community sentiment
• refers to a strong sense of awe or
feeling among the members or a
feeling of belonging together.
• refers to a sentiment of common
living that exists among the members
of a locality.
 4. Naturality
• Communities are naturally
organized
• It is neither a product of human
nor created by an act of
government. It grows
spontaneously.
• Individuals became member by
birth.
 5. Permanence
Community
• always a permanent group
• refers to a permanent living of
individuals within a definite
territory.
• it is not temporary like that of a
crowd or association
 6. Similarity
• The members of a community are similar
in a number of ways
• As they live within a definite locality, they
lead a common life and share some
common ends
• Among the members similarity in
language, culture, customs, and
traditions and in many other things is
observed
• The similarities are responsible for the
development of community sentiment
 7. Wider ends
• A community has wider ends

• Members of a community
associate not for the fulfillment of
a particular end but for a variety
of ends
 8. Total organized social life
• A community is marked by total
organized social life
• It means a community includes
all aspects of social life
• Hence, a community is a society
in miniature
 9. A particular name
• Every community has a
particular name by which it is
known to the world

• Members of a community are also

identified by that name
 10. Size of community
• A community is classified on the
basis of its size
• It may be big or small
• Village is an example of a small
community
• Nation or world is an example of a
big community
• Both the type of community are
essential for human life
 11. Concrete nature
• A community is concrete in nature as
it refers to a group of people living in
a particular locality we can see its
existence. Hence, it is concrete
• A community exists within society
and possesses distinguishable
structure which distinguishes it from
others
 B. CLASSIFICATION
1. Urban - large communities with lots of
people and buildings that are close
together. Many people work in and urban
community. A city is an urban community
2. Rural - have few people
and the houses are usually farther apart.
Farms, towns and villages are rural
communities
3. Sub-urban - surrounds an urban
community
 A HEALTHY COMMUNITY…
1. … prompts its members to have a high
degree of awareness that “we are
community”
2. … uses its natural resources while
taking steps to conserve them from
future generations
3. …openly recognizes the existence of
sub-groups and welcomes their
participation in community affairs
4. …is prepared to meet crises
5. … is a problem-solving community; it
identifies, analyzes and organizes to
meet its own needs
6. … has open channels of
communication that allows information
to flow among all subgroups of its
citizens in all directions
7. … seeks to make each of its system’s
resources available to all members of
the community
8. … has legitimate and effective
ways to settle disputes and meet
needs that arise within the
community
9. … encourages maximum citizen
participation in decision-making
10. … promotes a high level of
wellness among all its members
 C. COMPONENTS
1. The CORE
2. Eight subsystems of the community
a. Housing
b. Education
c. Fire and safety
d. Politics and government
e. Health
f. Communication
g. Economics
h. Recreation
 The CORE
§ Represents the people that make
up the community

§ The demographics of the

population as well as the values,
beliefs & history of the people
SUBSYTEMS of the Community

1. Housing
§ What type of housing facilities are
there in the community?
§ Are there enough housing
facilities available?
§ Are there housing
laws/regulations governing the
people?
2. Education
This includes THOSE THAT AFFECT EDUCATION:
§ laws
§ regulations
§ facilities
§ activities
§ ratio of health educators to learners
§ distribution of educational facilities
§ who utilizes these
§ what informal educational facilities
§ activities exist in the community
3. Fire and Safety
§ fire protection facilities
§ fire prevention activities

4. Politics and Government

§ political structures present in the
community
§ decision-making process/pattern
§ leadership styles observed, etc.
5. Health
§ Health facilities & activities
distribution, utilization, ratio of
providers to clients served; priorities
in health, programs developed

6. Communication
§ Systems, types of communication
existing, forms of communication, be
it formal or informal
7. Economics
§ occupation
§ types of economic activities
§ income

8. Recreation
§ recreational activities, facilities
§ types, consumers, appropriateness to
consumers
ELEMENTS OF A HEALTHY COMMUNITY

1. People are partners in health care.

2. People work together to attain goal.
3. Physical environment promotes health,
safety, order and cleanliness.
4. Safe water and nutritious food
5. Families provide members with basic
needs.
6. Available, affordable health care
 FACTORS THAT AFFECT
COMMUNITY HEALTH
a. Political
b. Socio-economic
c. Heredity
d. Environment
e. Behavior/cultural
f. Health care delivery system
a. Political - An activity related to
government policy and its administrative
practices that can have an effect on
something.
b. Socio-economic – poverty level,
educational attainment & nature of
occupation of members of the family
(sources of income)
c. Heredity – Inherited risk factors that are
passed down from parent to child by way
of genes
d. Environment – known characteristics
in an environment that impact the
survival, operations, and growth of an
organization

e. Behavior/cultural – encompasses the

set of beliefs, moral values, traditions,
language, and laws (or rules of
behavior) held in common by a nation, a
community, or other defined group of
people
f. Health care delivery system -
the totality of all policies, facilities,
equipment, products, human
resources and services which
address the health needs,
problems and concerns of the
people