Promoting community behavioral change is an important change process where the community members are allowed to participate in the process in different aspects. In the implementation of community behavioral change, individual, group, and social efforts can be combined to enhance the effectiveness of this process (Michie, 2014).
This can be achieved through community programs that are aimed at mobilizing the community members where each member has the opportunity to share some of his/her experiences and successful strategies. The programs also build partnerships between different individuals, groups, and the community at large (Michie, 2014). This is important as it encourages a collaborative approach in addressing some of the community’s needs. The ability to work with other members of the community is essential in achieving the desired goals and objectives.
Any gap that may cause a challenge for the members in identifying their roles should be addressed to enable all parties involved to work together focusing on the same outcomes (Estacio et al., 2017). Another strategy to combine individual, group, and social efforts is the use of asset-based approach that enables the community to develop a supportive structure where individuals are able to provide different resources as well as knowledge to support behavioral change (Estacio et al., 2017. This structure may be headed by community leaders who play an important role in addressing some of the barriers that may prevent individual and group efforts from being recognized. Maintaining healthy relationships between the parties involved may be a challenge for the leaders may require the development of guidelines on how this partnership works (Estacio et al., 2017.
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A third approach to combine individual, group, and social efforts is through community system changes where the old programs are modified or replaced with new programs that provide more opportunities to all members of the community to participate in the behavioral change process (Michie, 2014). One of the challenges that may result from this approach is the issue of high cost associated with creating an effective structure to support the new programs and ensure a successful integration process (Michie, 2014). This includes developing effective communication structures to facilitate sharing and exchange of information. This may require the hiring of a communication specialist to implement effective communication techniques (Michie, 2014).
References
- Estacio, E. V., Oliver, M., Downing, B., Kurth, J., & Protheroe, J. (2017). Effective Partnership in Community-Based Health Promotion: Lessons from the Health Literacy Partnership. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(12).
- https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14121550
- Michie, S. (2014). ABC of behavior change theories: [an essential resource for researchers, policy makers, and practitioners: 83 theories]. Sutton, Surrey: Silverback publications.
