Roda, Felmer P. R.N.

MCN-1
COMMUNITY HEALTH
We shall consider a community to be that combination of social units and systems
which perform the major social functions having locality relevance. This is another
way of saying that by community we mean the organization of social activities to
afford eole daily local access to those broad areas of activity which are necessary in
day to day living! We shall organize our descrition and analysis of such activities
around five ma"or functions which have such locality relevance! These functions are#
1! $roduction-distribution-consumtion
%! &ocialization
'! &ocial Control
(! &ocial $articiation
)! Mutual &uort
The community* however* is esecially characterized by the organization of these
functions on a locality basis!
The function of production-distribution-consumption has to do with the local
articiation in the rocess of roducing* distributing* and consuming those goods
and services which are a art of daily living and access to which is desirable in the
immediate locality! While it is customary to consider economic entrereneurs+most
tyically the modern business cororation+as the rincial roviders of such goods
and services* all community institutions whether industrial* business* rofessional*
religious* educational* governmental* or whatever* rovide such goods and services!
,ndeed* the conditions under which one such unit or another shall rovide the
articular goods and services are an imortant consideration* and the switch in their
rovision from one tye of ausices to another has imortant imlications!
The function of socialization involves a rocess by which society or one of it
constituent social units transmits revailing -nowledge* social values* and behavior
atterns to its individual members! Through this rocess the individual comes to ta-e
on the way of living of his society rather than that of some other! The rocess is
articularly imortant and noticeable in the early years of the individual* but it
e.tends throughout his life! ,n /merican communities the formal school system is
ordinarily considered the rincial community institution in charging this function*
although it is recognized that individual families have an imortant role to lay*
articularly in the early ears* and that many other grous are also active in the
rocess!
The function of social control involves the rocess through which a grou
influences the behavior of its member toward conformity with its norms! 0ere too*
several different social units erform this function on the community level!
Customarily* formal government is considered articularly ertinent* since by
definition government has ultimate coercive ower over the individual through the
enforcement of universally alicable laws! The olice and the courts are esecially
relevant in the erformance of the social control function by local government* but* as
we shall see* many other social units* including the family* the school* the church* the
social agency* also lay a large art!
/n imortant community function is that of roviding local access to social
participation! $erhas the most widely revalent social unit for roviding social
articiations the religious organization+church or synagogue+and so these
religious organizations will be considered in the conte.t of their great imortance in
erforming this function! 1rdinarily* one thin-s of voluntary organizations of various
sorts as the community2s mot imortant units for channeling social articiation!
Nevertheless* many different tyes of social units* including businesses* government
offices* and voluntary and ublic health and welfare agencies* rovide through their
formal activity imortant avenues of social articiation to their emloyees or
volunteer wor-ers in the course of the erformance of their occuational tas-s!
3i-ewise* family and -ingshi grous* friendshi grous* and other less formal
grouings rovide imortant channels of social articiation!
/ final ma"or community function is that of roviding for mutual support on the
local level! Traditionally* such mutual suort* whether in the form of care in time of
sic-ness* the e.change of labor* or the heling out of a local family in economic
distress* has been erformed locally very largely under such rimary grou ausices
as family and relatives* neighborhood grous* friendshi grous* and local religious
grous! &ecialization of function* along with other social changes4has led to a
gradual change in ausices for many of these mutual suort functions+to ublic
welfare deartments* to rivate health and welfare agencies* to governmental and
commercial insurance comanies* and so on! $erhas the resent archetye of the
community based mutual suort unit might be the voluntary agency in the field of
health and welfare* but the distribution of this function* li-e others* through a wide
range of social ausices is an imortant asect of the current situation in /merican
communities4

What do we mean b !"o#$al %art$#$%at$on!&
&ocial articiation can ta-e on a number of different forms including#
informing eole with balanced* ob"ective information5
consulting* whereby the affected community rovides feedbac-5
involving* or wor-ing directly with communities5
collaborating by artnering with affected communities in each asect of the
decision including the develoment of alternatives identification of solutions5 and
emowering* by ensuring that communities retain ultimate control over the -ey
decisions that affect their wellbeing!
/ healthy community is one that shares its resources and see-s to imrove the
environment! The ten characteristics of a healthy community include# clean and safe
hysical environments* e6uity and social "ustice* strong* mutually-suortive
relationshis* articiation of residents in decision-ma-ing and cultural and siritual
heritage! 1ther characteristics include# diverse and robust economy* broad
oortunities for learning and develoment* access to health services and ade6uate
access to food* water* shelter* wor-* safety and recreation!