Unit 2: COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT CONCEPTS,

THEORIES, AND STRATEGIES

Introduction:

In relation to the world or culture, theories have provided us with useful

ways of thinking about the value of the individual. The person is affected
by the environment, which means that as we attempt to analyze social
issues or create collective interventions, we must look beyond just
individual influences.

The theory of sense of community was first described by the community

psychologist Sarason (1974). This theory was meant to capture the
feeling people experience when they perceive themselves as having an
interdependent connection with a broader community outside
themselves. More specifically, the psychological sense of community is:
“the feeling one is part of a larger dependable and stable structure” (p.
157). McMillan and Chavis (1986) defined a sense of community as a
feeling that members have of belonging; members feel that they matter
to one another and the group.

Conventional nature of communities

There are many theories that treat communities as natural organisms

that are properly subject to natural law (Plato, 1945). The theory of
community growth chooses to perceive communities as traditional
structures. The theory of community development recognizes that it is
natural for individuals to favor daily social interaction arrangements.

Development

Development is used in some circumstances as a synonym for growth.

Development can be good or bad when used without regard to
consistency or consequences. Development is a term related to
enhancement, a certain kind of change in a positive direction.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this unit, students will be able to:

1. Discuss different theories and their applications to community/public health.

2. Critique a theory in regard to its relevance to population health issues.
3. Explain how theory-based practice achieves the goals of community/public health by
protecting and promoting the health of the public
 Presentation of Contents

General Systems Theory

• is applicable to the different levels of the community health clientele

• viewed as an OPEN SYSTEM, the client is considered as a set of interacting
elements that exchange energy, matter, or information with the external
environment to exist (Katz and Kahn, 1966; von Bertalannfy, 1968)
• The individual is a set of several dimensions- physical, psychological, social, and spiritual-
that are interdependent and interrelated.
• A geographic community is composed of a set of families.

Social Learning Theory

• Is based on the belief that learning takes place in a social context, that is, people
learn from one another and that learning is promoted by modeling or observing
other people.
• Persons are thinking beings with self-regulatory capacities, capable of making
decisions and acting according to expected consequences of their behavior.
• The environment affects learning, but learning outcomes depend on the learner’s
individual characteristics (Bandura, 1977).
Health Belief Model

• Provides the basis for much of the practice of health education and health
promotion today
• Key concepts and definitions of the HBM (Janz et al., 2002)
• Client’s perception
• Perceived susceptibility - one’s belief regarding the chance of getting a given
condition
• Perceived severity - one’s belief regarding the seriousness of a given condition
• Perceived benefits - one’s belief in the ability of an advised action to reduce the health risk
or seriousness of a given condition
• Perceived barriers - one’s belief regarding the tangible and psychological costs of an
advised action
• Cues to action - strategies or conditions in one’s environment that activate readiness to take
action
• Self-efficacy - one’s confidence in one’s ability to take action to reduce health risks
Milio’s Framework for Prevention
• Nancy Milio (1976)
• National-level policy making was the best way to favorably impact the health of most
people rather than concentrating efforts on imparting information in an effort to change
individual patterns of behavior.
• Proposed that health deficits often result from an imbalance between a population’s health
needs and its health-sustaining resources.

Pender’s Health Promotion Model

• Explores many psychosocial factors that influence individuals to pursue health

promotion activities.
• Pender’s model does not include threat as a motivator, as threat may not be a
motivating factor for clients in all age groups.
The Transtheoretical Model

• Combines several theories of intervention

• TTM is based on the assumption that behavior change takes place over time,
progressing through a sequence of stages.
• It also assumes that each of the stages is both stable and open to change.
Precede-Proceed Model

• Developed by Dr. Lawrence W. Green and colleagues

• Provides a model for community assessment, health education planning, and
evaluation.
• PRECEDE - stands for Predisposing, Reinforcing, and Enabling Constructs in
Educational Diagnosis and Evaluation
- used for community diagnosis
• PROCEED - stands for Policy, Regulatory, and Organizational Constructs in Educational
and Environmental Development
- a model for implementing and evaluating health programs based on PRECEDE.
 Application

1. Now that you have learned the different community health and development
concepts, theories, and strategies, can you cite their applications to community and
public health?
2. Critique a theory in regard to its relevance to population health issues.
3. Explain how theory-based practice achieves the goals of community/public health
by protecting and promoting the health of the public.

Reflection

Now that you have reached this far, it is time to reflect and make a move by
answering the following questions?

1. Which strategies of this studying do you find effective? Which are not?

2. How can you improve your style?

3. How did you gain learning?

References:

Araceli S. Maglaya.(2009). Nursing Practice in the Community,

Cuevas, Frances Prescilla L.(2007). Public Health Nursing in the Philippines 10th
edition, c.

CommunityDevelopment Theories and Principles of Community participation.

University of Nairobi. Retrieved from:
https://www.academia.edu/17081310/Community_Development_Theories_and_Prin
ciples_of_Community_Participation_3