occupy
Last week, there was post on this website discussing how to create a community contagion.
The point of the contagion post was to think through ways the community can begin to work together and spread their message. While this remains the challenge, let’s take this a step further. Let’s begin to consider the role of engaging the community and community empowerment.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO):
“Community empowerment refers to the process of enabling communities to increase control over their lives. “Communities” are groups of people that may or may not be spatially connected, but who share common interests, concerns or identities. These communities could be local, national or international, with specific or broad interests. ‘Empowerment’ refers to the process by which people gain control over the factors and decisions that shape their lives. It is the process by which they increase their assets and attributes and build capacities to gain access, partners, networks and/or a voice, in order to gain control.”
How often is the community empowered in healthcare? How often is the community voice heard?
While there are ample studies on community empowerment (e.g. May, 1995, Eng, 1992, Rose, 2002), how often do we hear of the community stepping up to do demand more from healthcare?
Could it be that the community, as the WHO defines it, does not have a common “interest, concern or identity” as it relates to healthcare? Surely there are some communities that have made healthcare their mission to change. It is hard to imagine that after hearing stories of healthcare failing communities that more is not done. Just pick a story. Any story.
Is it that “we” have failed to actively engage the community in changing healthcare?
Rather than describe here examples of community empowerment for healthcare, let me pose the question – what have you seen? What are examples from your community where the community, feeling empowered, have demanded change in healthcare?