Role of Community Organizing

Introduction.

            Community organizing is a common aspect in solving community problems today.  This can be explained as a process whereby through an organization the people living in the same environment and proximity get to act on their common and self-interest.  Community based participatory research can be viewed as a partnership approach that involves all key players in the community to play an important role in awareness, evaluation and alleviation of issues affecting the community and in this case public health issues (Cohen, Chavez & Chechimi, 2007).

    According to Reyes, the participation of the community is paramount in that it ensures that there is equitable involvement and expertise contribution from the members of the community, researchers and representatives of the Government authority and concerned organizations in every step of the research process (2007).  This essay seeks to expound on the process of community based research, how the community organizing can be effective, the key principles involved.  The essay will also  provide examples of applicability of the aforementioned area of study.

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            The area of Florida specifically Jacksonville, has been experiencing health hazards caused by high concentration of toxic substances in the region.  This has led to rise in health issues, like respiratory problems and to some extend it has become fatal in that it has led to a high infant mortality rate (Weitz Luxenberg, 2001).  In this view we need identify the important theory in establishing the participatory research we should keep in mind that there should be a balance between the production of new significant and helpful knowledge and the resultant benefit to the community.

  The main principle that is a necessity to the success of the aforementioned arrangement project is the principle of recognizing the community to being a unit of identity and the principle of collaboration.  According to Schneiderman, Speers, Silvav, Tomes and Gentr  collaboration is a partnership which is among equals and has expertise and/or complementary knowledge (2002).

            The Jacksonville community needs to identify a researcher and an organization to be effective partners to the identified project and who are willing to engage in competent research and support the involvement of the community.  To refer to the initiated participatory community based research done in Flint, Michigan, by a researcher Dr. Katherine Alaimo partnering with university of Michigan in 2003, it is clear that a researcher should not go with his/her own ideas on the issue of research because one can find that the community had a different proposal for an area of study.  With the spirit of collaboration they jointly and came up with a project having joint ideas on reduction of tension through growth of vegetables and flowers which became a commendable success.

            Basically, the community should be the one to identify the problem of research since they best know what affects them and the researcher is to play a supervisory and supportive role while the organization together with the Government can help provide the resources and dissemination of the process (Israel and Schulz, et al, 2001).

Conclusion

            Though there are hurdles faced in carrying out the community organizing as noted by Flicker, Savan, Konenda and Mildenberger (2007) the process of community based research could be elongated, it is involving and also consumes time and that the process results are not instant and it requires a considerably high level commitment.  The advantages are that it helps in phenomenon identification, creates community awareness on the issue and results to community involvement in identifying the solution, it also create an equitable partnership from the necessaries corners and creates an expertise and resource mobilization for the solution to the problem and ensure there is replication of the best practice in any viable public health problem that could affect the society.

References.

 Cohen, L., Chavez, V. &  Chehimi, S. (Eds) (2007).`Working Collaboratively to Advance        Prevention` . Prevention is primary: Strategies for community well being(pp. 141–159)  .          Jossey-Bass, San Francisco,CA.

  Schneiderman, N.,  Speers, M., et al (Eds) (2002). Integrating behavior and social sciences       with public health.  Date accessed 14^th October 2008

            http://boks.apa.org/booksefri?id-431614A
Flicker, S., Savan, B., Konenda, B., & Mildenberger, M.(2007). A snapshot of community-based          research in Canada: Who? What? Why? How? Health Education Research, 1–9.       Oxford            University Press. Oxford.
Israel, B., Schulz, E. P., Parker, E. A., & Becker, A. B. (2001). Community-based participatory             research: Recommendations for promoting a partnership approach in health research:          Education for Health, 14(2), 182–197. Retrieved on 14^th October 2008
http://depts.washington.edu/ccph/pdf_files/EducforHealthIsrael.pdf

Weitz Luxenberg Website. Date accessed 14^th October  2008        http://www.google.co.ke/search?hl=en&q=Weitz+Luxenberg&btnG=Google+Search

University of Michigan (2003). Prevention Research Center of Michigan: Community Garden   Storytelling Project of Flint. Date accessed 14^th October 2008