Involving Rural Communities in Improving Their Health: Skill Sets and a Best Practice for Organizers

Communities, policy makers, public and private funders, and nonprofit organizations frequently assume responsibility for community health improvement. They often flounder in how to get started or to find ways to reenergize existing groups and initiatives. This book offers fifteen examples of a participatory approach used with rural health issues across a fifty-year career in community organizing. Each case includes the background, goals, practical use of methods that integrate models and theories with group process techniques, and lessons learned. Examples include working with and for groups and organizations in small communities, rural regions, states and national groups. Cases focus on issues including cancer and substance abuse. Active adoption of the principles of community-engaged scholarship, community-based participatory research, and public health are demonstrated. Chapters describe three key complementary skill sets helpful for organizers: methods for engaging groups, group process tips, and approaches to being accountable. Special characteristics of organizing in rural settings are recognized. Each case illustrates how to listen first, then find ways to encourage groups to determine their own issues, identify their goals for change, and consensually choose acceptable and collaborative strategies. This approach and lessons learned from a long career are offered for consideration to others engaged in the process of community organizing.