Review article
https://doi.org/10.21857/mnlqgc0ply
SOME DETERMINANTS OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND HEALTH PROMOTION FOR FAMILIES, CHILDREN AND YOUTH
Nino Žganec
orcid.org/0000-0003-3916-0127
; Pravni fakultet, Studijski centar socijalnog rada
Abstract
Modern approaches to health determination have been influenced since
long time ago by the notions that describe it as a state of complete physical,
mental and social well-being,and not just the absence of illness. Particularly
vulnerable social groups such as families, children and young people, as well
as many specific categories of the population such as refugees, poor people,
ethnic, sexual or racial minority groups are additionally affected in the communities
in which they live by the influence exerted on them by members of
that same community. As a result, approaches and models have evolved in the
theory and practice of different professions dealing with population health (such
as medicine, social work, psychology, etc.) within the last decades, within the
paradigm of community development and health promotion. In this way, the
community and the concept of health became inseparable. Community health
is the ability of a community to create and successfully use resources to support
the well-being and quality of life of the community. Community development
refers to the process of fostering a sense of community, strengthening social ties
between people, raising cohesion with the aim of achieving a harmonious, supportive,
and stimulating and engaging environment for people. It builds on the
development of community resources that can be found, among other things, in
self-help groups, the social support system, or the development of systems that
enhance citizen participation in directing and shaping health priorities. Community
health promotion is a conceptual framework that emphasizes primary
prevention and a community-based perspective, and can be viewed as a philosophy,
process, project or outcome. Community development and community
health promotion contain the fundamental belief that people can identify and
solve their problems. To this end, a number of community-based work models
have been developed, some of which are ideally-typed and some derived from
the practice of professionals around the world. The paper presents some key
determinants of the concepts of community development and health promotion,
the characteristics of the contexts in which the processes of community development
and health promotion take place, the specifics of particular models
of work, their key values and their goals. In conclusion, it was emphasized that
community development and promotion of community health are an essential
aspect of contemporary health practices and policies, and that using the community
as a starting point for their interventions can achieve significant success in promoting the position of diverse, especially vulnerable, social groups and at
the same time reducing financial costs associated with achieving that goal.
Keywords
community development; health promotion; family; children; youth.
Hrčak ID:
231134
URI
Publication date:
24.12.2019.
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