Community-Based Health Interventions in an Institutional Context

Community-Based Health Interventions in an Institutional Context examines challenges of "institutionalizing" community-based health care. While the community-based or localized model is growing in popularity and importance in the United States, in practice it must often be brought in to larger institutions in order to grow to scale. The typical goals of an institution―standardization, formalization, and control―may be seen as antithetical to those of a community-based healthcare provider, such as spontaneity, customization, and flexibility. 

The contributions to this work raise questions about how the community-based model can be scaled up through institutions, and how "institutionalization" can be rethought from a bottom-up approach. They provide not only an overview of community-based organizations, but also delve into practical topics such as establishing budgets, training workers, incorporating technology, as well as more theoretical topics like goal-setting, policy effects (like the ACA), and relationships between patient and community.

This work will be of interest for researchers interested in exploring the community-based health care model, as well as practitioners in health care and health policy.

Steven L. Arxer is assistant professor of sociology at the University of North Texas at Dallas. He earned his doctoral degree from the University of Florida. He has published papers in the journals of Humanity & Society and Qualitative Sociology Review and has contributed to several edited volumes, including The Symbolization of Globalization, Development, and Aging (Springer, 2013). His research interests are globalization, NGOs, and gender mainstreaming.