COMMUNITY

DEFINITION:

Defined within one or two frameworks: 1) geographical area; 2) relational

Geographical definitions usually look at communities in terms of legal or geopolitical jurisdictions,

such as cities, towns, municipalities or census tracts.

Relational definitions are more abstract and examine how a group of people interacts to achieve
common goals. With relational definitions the boundaries of communities overlap and the people
often have membership in more than one community. An example of overlapping boundaries is a
person living in one community and working in another. This person has ties and relationships with
both communities.

Community is defined in a very broad sense as a group of people living in an environment that has
the ability to meet their major goals and needs.

Community is a place to live, a collection of people and a social system ( Sanders)

Community as a social system includes people, spatial arrangements, shared institutions,

interaction and power structure.(Warren)

Community is a social group determined by geographical boundaries and/or common values and
interests; community members know and interact with one another; the community functions within
a particular social structure; and the community create norms, values and social institutions.(WHO
1974)

A community is a group of people (collection of families) living together in a geographical location

with the same socio-cultural values with the same special interest.

A community is formed when people interact or interrelate in a social situation that has some
degree of stability—a stable social interaction takes place in a geographical unit where people are
bound by ties, which are usually lumped under the same culture.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A COMMUNITY:

1. Environment- includes the physical, biological, socio-cultural, educational and employment milieu
The physical environment of the community includes the geography, climate, terrain, natural
resources and structural entities (buildings such as schools, workplaces and homes).

The biological environment of the community includes various flora, fauna, bacteria, viruses,
molds, fungi, toxic substances, and food and water supplies.

The sociocultural environment of the community reflects the culture, values, attitudes, and
demographic characteristics of the people of the community.

2. Population behavior or lifestyle – This describes the self-responsibility, the self-care competency
of the people in the community.
3. Human biology – describes the genetic characteristics of population.

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4. Systems of Health care – Describes whether available health care is that of prevention,
promotion, cure and rehabilitation.

CLASSIFICATION OF COMMUNITIES:

1. Urban- high density, a socially heterogeneous population and a complex structure, non-
agricultural occupations; something different from an area characterized by complex
interpersonal social relations.

2. Rural – usually small and the occupation is usually farming, fishing and food gathering. It is
peopled by simple folk characterized by primary group relations, well-knit and having a high
degree of group feeling.

3. Rurban – a combination of the first two.

COMPONENTS OF A COMMUNITY

I. THE CORE – represents the people that make up the community. Included in the community
CORE are the demographics of the population as well as the values, beliefs and the history of
the people.

Nature and Scope of Demography:

The word demography was derived from the Greek words: demos, meaning people and graphos,
meaning count. Very simply, it is the study by statistical methods of human population.

More inclusively, it is the study of the size, composition and distribution of human population and
the changes over time brought about by births, deaths and migration. The scope of demography
thus includes the following aspects, which are indicated by certain demographic measures:

 Population size – the size of the population simply refers to the population or the number of
people that is affected by births, deaths and migration.

 Population composition – The composition of the population refers to the arrangement of

the people according to biologic, social, ecological characteristics such as age, marital status,
education, occupation, etc. Three common that relate to population composition are the
following:

a. Sex ratio – This is simply the number of males in a population divided by the number
of females. Since the quotient is usually just below or above `1, it is multiplied by 100 (and
expressed in percentage) to give it meaning. Thus sex ratio = male/female x 100.
Example:
In a community with 400 males and 600 females, the sex ratio is 66% or 66 males for
every 100 females.

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b. Age composition – There are two to describe the age composition of the population

 Median age – divides the population into two equal parts. So if the median age
is said to be 19 years old, it means half of the population belongs to 19 years and
above, while the other half belongs to ages below 19 years old.

 Dependency Ratio – compares the number of economically dependent with the

economically productive group in the population. The economically dependent are
those who belong to the 0-14 and 65 and above age groups. Considered to be
economically productive are those within the 15 to 64 age group. It is computed by
dividing the number of economically dependent age group by the number of
economically productive age group and multiplied by 100.
Example:
In a community of 400 economically dependent and 600 economically
productive, the dependency ratio is 66% or 66 dependents for every 100 working
pop.

c. Age and sex composition – This can be described at the same time using a population
pyramid. It is a graphical presentation of the age and sex composition of the population. . This
is usually expressed in terms of proportion (or percentage) of people in various age groups of
different sex in a population.

 Population Distribution- The distribution of the population in space can be described

in terms of urban-rural distribution, population density and crowding index. These measures
helps the community health care worker decide how meager resources can be justifiably
allocated based on concentration of population in a certain place.

a. Urban-rural distribution simply illustrates the proportion of the people living in urban
compared to the rural areas.

b. Crowding index will describe the ease by which a communicable disease will be
transmitted from one host to another susceptible host. This is described by dividing
the number of persons in a household with the number of rooms used by the family for
sleeping.

c. Population density will determine how congested a place is and has implications in
terms of adequacy of basic health services present in the community. It can be
computed by dividing the number of people living in a given land area.

 Population Dynamics – This refers to the changes in size, composition or distribution

of the population over time. Changes in the population can be reflected by measures of
migration and population growth. However, measures of migration are not being used very
much because of incomplete data.

a. Rate of Annual Increase – This refers to the difference between birth and death
rates per 1000 population. Thus,

RNI = CBR (Crude birth rate) – CDR (Crude death rate)

b. Average Annual Increase – This refers to the change in population size with
reference to the base population (population at an earlier date) expressed either in
absolute or relative terms,

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 1. Absolute change: measures the number of people that are added to the population per
year; expressed in numerical increase; obtained by the formula:

Pt - Po where : Pt = population at a later date

T Po = population at an earlier date
T = number of years between time 0 and time t

2. Relative increase = is the actual difference between the two census counts expressed in
per cent relative to the population size made during at an earlier census.

Relative increase = Pt - Po
Po

SIGNIFICANCE OF DEMOGRAPHY TO COMMUNITY HEALTH

1. Anticipate health problems. For example, age structure gives an idea of the nature of health
problems in a community. In a young population, one may expect a predominance of certain
childhood and communicable diseases while in the old population, there maybe a high
prevalence of chronic, degenerative diseases.

2. Determine availability and need for resources. In the planning of public health programs,
population data are used in determining the need for and allocating resources in terms of
manpower and materials.

3. Serve as a tool and basis for evaluation.

SOURCES OF DEMOGRAPHIC DATA:

1. National Census. A census is a complete enumeration of population taken at specified points in

time. If the count considers all persons wherever they maybe on census day, it is called de facto
census. However, if it considers persons only in their places of residence, it is termed as de jure
census.

2. National Registration of vital events. Most nations have laws that make it compulsory to register
each birth (within 30 days in the Phils.) after they occur.

3. Sample surveys. The sample survey is the study of a sub-group of population that is
representative sample of the total population to obtain a more detailed information about the
population.

II. The eight (8) subsystems of the community:

1. Housing – What type of housing facilities are there in the community; are there enough
housing facilities available; are there housing laws/regulations governing the people? What
are these?

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 2. Education – These includes laws, regulations, facilities, activities affecting education, ratio
of health educators to learners, distribution of educational facilities, who utilizes these;
what informal educational facilities and activities exist in the community?
3. Fire and Safety – Fire protection facilities and fire prevention activities, distribution of
these.
4. Politics and government – Political structures present in the community, decision-making
process/pattern, leadership style observed, etc…
5. Health – Health facilities and activities; distribution, utilization, ratio of providers to
clientele served; priorities in health, programs developed, etc.
6. Communication – Systems, types of community existing, forms of communication, be it
formal or informal, vertical or horizontal; etc.
7. Economics – Occupation, types of economic activities, income, etc….
8. Recreation–Recreational activities/facilities: types, consumers, appropriateness to
consumers, etc…

A HEALTHTY COMMUNITY:

� … prompts its members to have a high degree of awareness that “we are community”

� … uses its natural resources while taking steps to conserve them for future generations.

� … openly recognizes the existence of sub-groups and welcomes their participation in

community affairs

� … is prepared to meet crises

� … is a problem-solving community; it identifies, analyzes and organizes to meet its own

needs

� … has open channels of communication that allows information to flow among all sub-groups
of its citizens in all directions

� … seeks to make each of its system’s resources available to all members of the community

� … has legitimate and effective ways to settle disputes and meet needs that arise within the
community

� … encourages maximum citizen participation in decision-making

� … promotes a high level wellness among all its members.

ELEMENTS OF A HEALTHY COMMUNITY:

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 People are partners in health care

 People work together to attain goals

 Physical environment promotes health, safety, order and cleanliness

 Safe water and nutritious food

 Families provide members with basic needs

 Available, affordable health care

FACTORS THAT AFFECT COMMUNITY HEALTH:

 Political

$ Socio-economic

 Heredity

 Environment

 Behavior

 Health Care Delivery System

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