Focusing on local health needs and promoting new partnerships

Abstract

Government reports have stressed the importance of community-based interventions in addressing health inequalities. This article discusses the pivotal role played by a health visitor and school nurse team in identifying the health needs of a local community and working in partnership with local people, key community groups, health and youth workers to address these specific needs. A health needs assessment highlighted the need for a parenting programme to support parents in managing young children's behaviour, a forum for teenagers to socialize and access pertinent health information and health days to raise public awareness of key community health issues. To date the parenting programme and the youth club have been implemented. Evaluation has considered how accessible, appropriate, efficient and effective they have been and the knowledge and skills gained by participants. This community development demonstrates how health promotion works through effective community action.

The Strength of Rural Nursing: Implications for Undergraduate Nursing Education

“…Involvement of community members and a sense of community ownership enhance outcomes and community empowerment (Glick, Hale, Kulbok & Shetting, 1996). Collaborative community assessment and strategy development is integral (Anderson & McFarlane, 2000;Rowley, Dixon, & Sheldon, 2000). Community concepts of health promotion, primary health care, upstream thinking, social determinants of health, and critical social theory also provide theoretical underpinning for the placement (Butterfield, 1990;Reuter, 1998).…”