Community organizing and community health: Piloting an innovative approach to community engagement applied to an early intervention project in south London

TY - JOUR

T1 - Community organizing and community health

T2 - Piloting an innovative approach to community engagement applied to an early intervention project in south London

AU - Bolton, Matthew

AU - Moore, Imogen

AU - Ferreira, Ana

AU - Day, Crispin

AU - Bolton, Derek

PY - 2016/3/1

Y1 - 2016/3/1

N2 - BACKGROUND: The importance of community engagement in health is widely recognized, and key themes in UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommendations for enhancing community engagement are co-production and community control. This study reports an innovative approach to community engagement using the community-organizing methodology, applied in an intervention of social support to increase social capital, reduce stress and improve well-being in mothers who were pregnant and/or with infants aged 0-2 years.METHODS: Professional community organizers in Citizens-UK worked with local member civic institutions in south London to facilitate social support to a group of 15 new mothers. Acceptability of the programme, adherence to principles of co-production and community control, and changes in the outcomes of interest were assessed quantitatively in a quasi-experimental design.RESULTS: The programme was found to be feasible and acceptable to participating mothers, and perceived by them to involve co-production and community control. There were no detected changes in subjective well-being, but there were important reductions in distress on a standard self-report measure (GHQ-12). There were increases in social capital of a circumscribed kind associated with the project.CONCLUSIONS: Community organizing provides a promising model and method of facilitating community engagement in health.

AB - BACKGROUND: The importance of community engagement in health is widely recognized, and key themes in UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommendations for enhancing community engagement are co-production and community control. This study reports an innovative approach to community engagement using the community-organizing methodology, applied in an intervention of social support to increase social capital, reduce stress and improve well-being in mothers who were pregnant and/or with infants aged 0-2 years.METHODS: Professional community organizers in Citizens-UK worked with local member civic institutions in south London to facilitate social support to a group of 15 new mothers. Acceptability of the programme, adherence to principles of co-production and community control, and changes in the outcomes of interest were assessed quantitatively in a quasi-experimental design.RESULTS: The programme was found to be feasible and acceptable to participating mothers, and perceived by them to involve co-production and community control. There were no detected changes in subjective well-being, but there were important reductions in distress on a standard self-report measure (GHQ-12). There were increases in social capital of a circumscribed kind associated with the project.CONCLUSIONS: Community organizing provides a promising model and method of facilitating community engagement in health.

KW - communities

KW - social determinants

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85016517618&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1093/pubmed/fdv017

DO - 10.1093/pubmed/fdv017

M3 - Article

C2 - 25724610

AN - SCOPUS:85007086245

SN - 1741-3842

VL - 38

SP - 115

EP - 121

JO - Journal of public health

JF - Journal of public health

IS - 1

ER -