Unit 1, CHOD, Purbanchal University, BPH, 3rd semester

1. Unit 1: Community Health
Organization and Development
Draft Version 3
(6 hrs.)
Upendra Raj Dhakal
Lecturer: Valley College of Technical Science, Kathmandu
Draft Version 3 (Feedback Welcomed) 1

2. Concept of community
• The word community is derived from communes which means shared in
common.
• Community is a small or large social unit (a group of living things) who have
something in common, such as norms, religion, value or identity.
• Community often share a sense of place that is situated in a given
geographical area or in virtual space through communication platform.
• Human community may share intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs,
and risks in common, affecting the identity of the participants and their
degree of cohesiveness.
• Various community join to form a society.
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3. Definition
• The group of people living together in a particular area, geographical
area or political boundaries is commonly known as community.
• A cluster of people with at least one common characteristic such as a
geographic location, occupation, ethnicity, economic condition,
housing condition, etc..
• A social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality,
share government, and often have common cultural and historical
heritage.
• A social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common
characteristic or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct
in some respect from the larger society within which it exists.
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4. Contd …
• A community is a social group with some degree of “we feeling” and
living in a given area - E.S. Bogardus
• A human population living within a limited geographical area and
carrying on a common interdependent life is called community
- Gerge Landberg and Others
• Community is the smallest territorial group that can embrace all
aspects of social life - K.S. Davis
• Community is a group of people living together in a particular area
who have organized themselves to meet common interest and
problems - Dr. Yogendra Pradhananga
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5. Elements
• Group or Individual
• Definite Geographical Area
• Community Sentiment
• We – feeling
• Role – feeling
• Dependency feeling
(Prof. Krishna Pd Acharya, HoD, TU, Community Diagnosis)
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6. Characteristics
• A group of People: The group can be small or big
• A definite Locality: residence in a definite territory
• Community Sentiment: Feeling of belonging together (We, role and
dependency feeling)
• Naturality: Neither formed by will, nor created by act, but
spontaneous.
• Similarity: Any similarity in terms of language, culture, customs,
tradition, …
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7. Contd …
• Wider Ends: Works on broader objectives, not necessary of particular
and specific objectives.
• Total Organized social life: Includes all aspects of social life
• A Particular Name: People living in Gorkha as Gorkhali, Christian -?, …
• No Legal Status: Community is not legally formed.
• Size of Community: Small or Big, eg. Village, Nation, Tribes, etc.
• Concrete Nature: It is not just an crowd, but stable mass of people
living permanently.
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8. Types
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9. Contd …
We can Classify every type of community by the purpose that brings
them together.
• Interest : Communities of people who share the same interest or passion.
• Action : Communities of people trying to bring about change.
• Place : Communities of people brought together by geographic
boundaries.
• Practice : Communities of people in the same profession or undertake the
same activities.
• Circumstance : Communities of people brought together by external
events/situations
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10. Types of Communities
• Geographic Communities: Share physical space, and communicate by
virtue (benefit) of proximity, rather than intend.
• Communities of Interest: AKA communities within communities. Members
of communities choose to associate with each other on the basis of
common interest. Eg. Football Club, Welfare society, …
• Virtual Communities: Group of people that primarily interact via
communication media rather than face to face. It is generally a computer
network and is also called as online community.
(http://www.ohcc-ccso.ca/en/book/export/html/380)
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11. Contd …
A number of ways to categorize types of community have been proposed. One such
breakdown is as follows:
• Location-based Communities: range from the local neighborhood, suburb,
village, town or city, region, nation or even the planet as a whole. These are also
called communities of place.
• Identity-based Communities: range from the local clique (gang), sub-culture,
ethnic group, religious, multicultural or pluralistic civilization, or the global
community cultures of today. They may be included as communities of need or
identity, such as disabled persons, or frail aged people.
• Organizationally based Communities: range from communities organized
informally around family or network-based guilds and associations to more
formal incorporated associations, political decision making structures, economic
enterprises, or professional associations at a small, national or international scale.
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12. Types of community on the basis of economic
development
• Rural Community: Small size, close contact, joint family system, engaged in
Farming, dependent on natural resources that are affected by climate
change. May feel physical isolation, limited economic diversity, higher
poverty rate, combined with an ageing population, increase in vulnerability,
fatalism, illiteracy, poor hygiene and sanitation, lack of HFs, …
• Urban Community: Big size, dense population, nuclear family, greater
incidence of love marriage and divorce, occupation are industrial, admin
and professional, Classes are formed (rich, middle, poor), heterogenic
group and social distance, short interactions and relations, increased
mobility, materialistic, rationalistic, anonymity, norms and social role
conflict, rapid social and cultural change, voluntary associations, formal
social control, secularization of outlook, impulse for modernization.
• Semi Urban Community: Rural community in the process of urbanization.
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13. Structure
Community
Structure
Class
Gender
Wealth
Caste
Prestige
Legitimate
factors
Religion
Occupation
????
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14. Community formation (Ingredients)
• Fair, Participatory, Decision Making
• Vision and Vision Statement: “What We Are About”
• Know What You Need to Know
• Clear Agreements, in Writing
• Good Communication Skills
• Select for Emotional Well-Being
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15. How the ingredients act during CD?
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16. Process of community formation ….
….Origin of Human civilization till the date ….
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17. Community power structure
• Gender
• Class
• Wealth
• Caste
• Prestige
• Occupation
• Religion
• Legitimate/Valid factors
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18. Types of Community Power
• Economic Power: …
• Political Power: …
• Ideological Power: …
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19. Sources of Community Power
• Referent Power : ( Specific character of person gives him/her the
popularity) ……….
• Legitimate Power: (Power given by law, valid) ………
• Expert Power: (Specialist, consultants, …) ………
• Reward Power: (Sympathy, ….) …….
• Coercive Power: ( Pressure, eg. For giving birth to son) …….
• Other Powers: Cultural Powers, …….
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20. Expectations of community
• Ethical Expectations (Respect for self, others, property, authority and
honesty)
• Standards of conduct
• Follow the cultural norms
• Sharing of culture
• Discipline
• Equity, equality and justice in resource sharing
• ……………?????............
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21. Hypothesis
• Hypothesis of Variation: Community vary in the sense of outcomes, after taking into
account of individuals socioeconomic status and other characteristics. These variations
are the human and social capital of the community.
• Hypothesis of converging gradients: socio economic and historical values shape the
behavior of people which contribute in shaping the community. It is a meeting point of
variations in the community.
• Hypothesis of double jeopardy: there is double threat in the community if the within-
community bond ness is shallower than the bondness between different communities. It
indicates people from less advantaged group are vulnerable.
In Summary:
Community members vary in different aspects, but have a common meeting point, and
in case, the meeting point is not identified – there is double risk of explosion.
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22. Difference: Community Vs Society
Keys Community Society
Meaning
Community means a group of people
living together, having some
characteristics in common.
Society means the number of people living in
a region, by honoring its laws and customs.
Geographic limitations Applicable to a community Not applicable to a society
Basic premise of living To share common traits or interests
To honor and obey the pertinent laws and
customs
Encompassment Communities include people who share
the same interests or likings.
A society can contain many communities
irrespective of whether they share the same
traits, as long as they follow the laws.
Diversity
Communities thrive on the likeness aspect
and don’t allow diversity.
A society can function normally, even if the
people inhabiting have diverse interests.
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