Community Empowerment: From 1 Different Sources
Involves individuals acting collectively to gain greater influence and control over the determinants of health and the quality of life in their communities. Community empowerment is an important goal in community action for health.
The combination of sciences, skills and beliefs directed towards the maintenance and improvement of the health of all the people through collective or social actions. The programmes, services and institutions involved emphasize the prevention of disease and the health needs of the population as a whole. Community health activities change with changing technology and social values, but the goals remain the same.... community health
Services and support to help people with care needs to live as independently as possible in their communities.... community care
The study of health and disease in the population of a defined community or group and the practice of medicine concerned with groups or populations rather than individual patients.... community medicine
A term that includes district nurses, health visitors, practice nurses and school nurses. While customarily based in a general practice or a health centre, they are independent health professionals contracted to the NHS (see NURSING).... community nurses
Formerly entitled consultant paediatrician (community child health), these are specialists dealing with children with chronic problems not involving acute or hospital care. For example, they have a primary role in dealing with disabled children, children with special educational needs and abused children.... community paediatrician
See COMMUNITY CARE.... care in community
A group of people, often living in a defined geographical area, who may share a common culture, values and norms, and are arranged in a social structure according to relationships which the community has developed over a period of time. Members of a community gain their personal and social identity by sharing common beliefs, values and norms which have been developed by the community in the past and may be modified in the future. They exhibit some awareness of their identity as a group, and share common needs and a commitment to meeting them.... community
Collective efforts by communities which are directed towards increasing community control over the determinants of health and thereby improving health.... community action for health
See “emergency alarm”.... community alarm
See “aid”.... community equipment
Includes health services and integrates social care. It promotes self care, independence and family support networks.... community health care
An ambulatory health care programme, usually serving a catchment area which has scarce or non-existent health services or a population with special health needs. These centres attempt to coordinate federal, state and local resources in a single organization capable of delivering both health and related social services to a defined population.... community health centre
An integrated collection of computer and telecommunication capabilities that permit multiple providers, payers, employers and related health care entities within a geographic area to share and communicate client, clinical and payment information.... community health information network (chin)
The ongoing process of evaluating the health needs of a community. Usually facilitates prioritization of needs and a strategy to address them.... community health needs assessment
Usually managed by NHS trusts, these are a complex variety of services provided to people outside hospital settings. The key parts are the services delivered by district nurses, health visitors and therapists – for example, physiotherapists and speech therapists.... community health services
A trained health worker who works with other health and development workers as a team. The community health worker provides the first contact between the individual and the health system. The types of community health worker vary between countries and communities according to their needs and the resources available to meet them. In many societies, these workers come from and are chosen by the community in which they work. In some countries they work as volunteers; normally those who work part-time or full-time are rewarded, in cash or in kind, by the community and the formal health services.... community health worker
The active involvement of people living together in some form of social organization and cohesion in the planning, operation and control of primary health care, using local, national and other resources. In community involvement, individuals and families assume responsibility for their and their communities’ health and welfare, and develop the capacity to contribute to their own and their communities’ development.... community involvement
An entity which provides comprehensive mental health services (principally ambulatory), primarily to individuals residing or employed in a defined catchment area.... community mental health centre
A doctor who works in the specialty that encompasses PREVENTIVE MEDICINE, EPIDEMIOLOGY and PUBLIC HEALTH.... community physician
A method for the determination of health insurance premiums that spreads the risk among members of a large community and establishes premiums based on the utilization experience of the whole community. For a set of benefits, the same rate applies to everyone regardless of age, gender, occupation or any other indicator of health risk.... community rating
Intended as a key part of the NHS’s local comprehensive mental health services serving populations of around 50,000, these multidisciplinary, multi-agency teams have been less e?ective than expected, in part due to varying modes of operation in di?erent districts. Some experts argue that the services they provide – for example, crisis intervention, liaison with primary care services and continuing care for long-term clients – could be delivered more e?ectively by several specialist teams rather than a single, large generic one comprising psychiatrists, psychologists, community mental health nurses, occupational therapists, support and (sometimes) social workers.... community mental health teams
A scheme utilizing volunteers to visit, spend time with and become friends with an older person in his/her place of residence.... community visitor scheme
The blend of health and social services provided to an individual or family in his/her place of residence for the purpose of promoting, maintaining or restoring health or minimizing the effects of illness and disability. These services are usually designed to help older people remain independent and in their own homes. They can include senior centres, transportation, delivered meals or congregate meals sites, visiting nurses or home health aides, adult day care and homemaker services.... community-based care / community-based services / programmes
A community which provides several levels of housing and services for older people, ranging from independent living units to nursing homes, on one site but generally in separate buildings.... continuing care retirement community
A process through which people gain greater control over decisions and actions affecting their lives. It is the process by which disadvantaged individuals or groups acquire the knowledge and skills needed to assert their rights.... empowerment for health
See “community-based care”.... home and community-based services; home and community care programme
At a personal level, the engagement of individuals in decisions about their health and about the diagnosis, treatment and after-care of their illness, injuries and other disorders. At a public level, the engagement of all members of the public in the planning, provision and performance of their health-care services. Traditionally, at both personal and public levels, the patient has generally been regarded as naturally subordinate to the politicians and managers who plan and run the health-care system(s), and to health professionals and medical institutions who provide personal health care. The public and patients are increasingly unwilling to accept this traditional model and are asserting themselves, for example through patient help groups, complaints, litigation and local political action with the aim of securing changes in how health care is organised and a much greater say in their own care.... patient empowerment
A community which provides several levels/types of housing and services for older people, ranging from independent living units to nursing homes, on one site but generally in separate buildings.... retirement village / retirement community
Strengthening the individual’s capacity to participate in decision-making regarding his or her care.... user empowerment
A method of treating drug dependence and alcohol dependence, and some personality disorders, that entails patients living together as a group in a nonhospital environment, usually under supervision. (See also social skills training.)... therapeutic community
(CAP) see pneumonia.... community-acquired pneumonia
see hospital.... community hospital
(in Britain) any of the groups that work with NHS foundation trusts to represent the views of patients and other interested parties in setting the strategic direction of the trust. They are often formed around specific disease categories or patient groups (e.g. deaf patients, children in care).... community interest group
(CMHT) a multidisciplinary team consisting of psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, psychologists, social workers, and occupational therapists who treat patients with severe mental illness in the community.... community mental health team
(domiciliary midwife) (in Britain) a registered *nurse with special training in midwifery (both hospital and domiciliary practice). The midwife must be registered with the *Nursing and Midwifery Council in order to practise; this requires regular refresher courses to supplement the basic qualification of Registered Midwife (RM). Community midwives are attached to general practices or hospitals, and their work includes home deliveries and antenatal and postnatal care in the community.... community midwife
see domiciliary services.... community services
see Mental Health Act.... community treatment order
n. giving or returning power to someone. Being ill is usually experienced as losing the ability to act as one wishes, and full recovery may only be achieved when the individual feels able to make their own decisions. This may be a problem where professionals insist on deciding for patients with certain conditions (e.g. mental illness). Empowerment involves action to redress the lack or *loss, for instance by offering explanation in a language, style, and level that is appropriate. See also autonomy; feminist ethics; paternalism.... empowerment
Health Encyclopedia