What Is Community? An Evidence-Based Definition for Participatory Public Health

Abstract

Increased emphasis on community collaboration indicates the need for consensus regarding the definition of community within public health. This study examined whether members of diverse US communities described community in similar ways. To identify strategies to support community collaboration in HIV vaccine trials, qualitative interviews were conducted with 25 African Americans in Durham, NC; 26 gay men in San Francisco, Calif; 25 injection drug users in Philadelphia, Pa; and 42 HIV vaccine researchers across the United States. Verbatim responses to the question "What does the word community mean to you?" were analyzed. Cluster analysis was used to identify similarities in the way community was described. A common definition of community emerged as a group of people with diverse characteristics who are linked by social ties, share common perspectives, and engage in joint action in geographical locations or settings. The participants differed in the emphasis they placed on particular elements of the definition. Community was defined similarly but experienced differently by people with diverse backgrounds. These results parallel similar social science findings and confirm the viability of a common definition for participatory public health.

Access to Healthful Foods among an Urban Food Insecure Population: Perceptions versus Reality

“…This pattern of food store access in a low-income, minority, urban context corroborates prior research. 2,[9][10][11][12][13][14] Across the different store types, supermarkets offered the greatest access to healthful foods whereas local markets and convenience stores offered the least access. For example, 70% of the stores in the three target communities were convenience stores, yet 70% of these convenience stores did not sell any fresh fruits or vegetables.…”

“…8 Stores selling a wide variety of food items such as chain supermarkets tend to be located in areas that are predominantly populated by Whites and by people representing middle or high levels of income (i.e., populations with low levels of food insecurity), whereas convenience stores and smaller, nonchain grocery stores are more prevalent in communities predominantly populated by racial minorities and people living in poverty (i.e., populations with high levels of food insecurity). [9][10][11][12][13][14] In short, an inverse relationship exists between community access to chain supermarkets and rates of food insecurity.…”

Child Welfare Partnership for Research and Training: A Title IV-E University/Community Collaborative Research Model

“…Community engagement is defined broadly as working collaboratively with diverse groups of people who are affiliated by social ties, common interests or perspectives, and geographic location (Clinical and Translational Science Awards [CTSA], 2011;MacQueen, et al, 2001;McDonald, 2009). Within this context, the community in the current partnership is defined as the child welfare agency (including Field Instructors and other agency members) and associated stakeholders, such as members of other social service systems (e.g.…”

Management of Data for Health Performance Measurement in the Industrialized Dairy Herd

“…A similar problem exists in humans, for whom the term 'public health' sometimes seems to be defined only as preventive medicine -the science of preventing diseases. However, much broader definitions also have been applied that involve the interaction among society, population and health, intended to improve the health of the population through education and preventive medicine (MacQueen et al, 2001).…”