COMMUNITY ENRTY AND
COMMUNTY MOBILIZATION
EO 100
Winfrida O. A/2024
Presentation structure
• This session covers 2 main issues;
• A: Community entry
• B: Community mobilization
Learning outcomes
• 1. To define community entry and community
mobilization
• 2. Make preparations for and community
entry process
• 3. To explain principles of community entry
and mobilization
• 4. Gain skills and attitude required for
effective community entry
A: Community entry
1: Introduction
• What is a Community ?
Introduction
• A community is a group of people living
together with “common interest”.
Introduction
We all live in a community. There are different
things that bind us together.
•Territory
•Sharing resources
•Administrative unit
•Language
•Religion
•Culture
•Occupation.
•Norms
Introduction
• Entering the community is an important
task the community health expert does
to familiarize him/herself to his/her area
of work and cooperate with the
community to improve health outcomes.
Introduction
• Community entry is a process of
initiating, nurturing, and sustaining a
desirable relationship with the
community, to secure and sustain the
community's interest.
Introduction
• Community entry involves recognizing
the community, its leadership and
people and adopting the most
appropriate process in meeting,
interacting and working with them.
2: Preparations for entry
1. Form an exploration team which is a
spying team.
2. Read about the community (annual
report from the CHMT, District Assembly
or from special report, news papers health
journals)
2: Preparations for entry
3. Collect informal information about the
community (this is done through interview
with individuals, through focus groups
discussion, through mapping, contact
opinion leaders, through house to house
census)
4. Transect walk and observation.
Important actions in community entry
• Identify the community by gathering
information through formal and informal
means like;
reading from available literature,
talking to knowledgeable people,
informal sources such as market places,
drinking bars, funerals, festive occasions etc.
Important actions in community entry
• Identify the leadership; It is very important to
recognize the position and roles of the community leaders in
order that they will help the community health officer to
develop ways in seeking their co-operation and support for
programme Implementation.
In meeting with chiefs and their stool/skin elders, it is important
to schedule meeting, times to suit the convenience of the
traditional leaders.
Important actions in community entry
• Follow protocol; Meet the paramount
chief first and discuss your mission e.g.
to know the history of the community
and new health programme.
• Meet elders also if possible.
3: Principles of community entry
i; Preparation
• Gather as much information as you can about
the community.
• Know who are you going to be interacting
with. They have knowledge that will be helpful
to you.
• Prepare what you will bring to the community.
ii; Collaboration (mutual benefits)
• You are become members of new
communities; introduction to new
environments, cultures, and people.
• Work toward a shared vision or common goal
by sharing responsibility and accountability for
achieving results. It begins with building trust.
• Find ways to enhance others capacities
iii; Reciprocity
• Means an exchange; a two way process.
• We all have ideas to share, and we all
have something to learn from one
another.
• Its a process of becoming partners in
creating change.
iv; Diversity
• Appreciate human diversity; try to adopt a
salad bowl mentality. Strive to become aware
of personal stereotypes and biases
• Accommodate willingness to learn
• Embrace different viewpoints; we have lots of
commonalities, yet we experience different
circumstances.
Community entry process
• Enter into the community upon response
from elders/leaders and influential
persons.
• Greet them in appropriate manner;
language, posture
• Inform them of your work with them.
Community entry process
• Ask for their permission and advice and state
your mission e.g. getting information about
the village or introduction of new health
programme.
• Ask them for involvement and engagement in
that program.
• Identify contact persons
• Thank them for their co-operation.
Examples of contact persons
• Prominent head of families
• Heads of schools/teachers.
• Religious leaders/catechists
• District assembly members
• Unity committee members
• Youth leaders
• Women group leaders
• The water and sanitation committee
• Disease surveillance volunteers.
• Traditional birth attendants. (TBA’s)
• Other health workers.
Why use contact persons?
• Good organisers people respect their
authority.
• Their presence helps people see the issues as
important.
• Trust by their people.
• They are credible
Pitfalls
• Sometimes not respected-so people may
not come to the meeting.
• Presence at meetings may discourage
people from talking.
Challenges with contact persons
• Some dominate meetings.
• Some may have lost credibility.
• Some may have conflict with chiefs.
• Some may embezzle funds.
• Some may be too bossy to help.
4: Skills and attitudes required for
community entry
Skills
• Maintain good eye contact
• Listen to both sides of and issue
• Encourage others to listen
• Show interest
• Paraphrase
• Be empathetic
Skills and attitudes required for
community entry
Attitude
• Patience
• Respect for other people
• Tolerance
• Humility [being humble]
• Good listening attitude
Considerations in community
entry
• Ensure that community members understand
the message and are encouraged to ask
question when necessary.
• Probe to find out reasons why the community
members may not be well with other leaders
through asking relevant questions,
encouraging answers as well as holding
discussions with them.
Considerations in community
entry
• Ensure that message is clear and avoid
unnecessary semantics and jargons.
• Encourage effective dialogue through the use
of effective 2- way communication skills.
• Create humour and interact in a way that
helps to build the environment for effective
interpersonal relationships.
Importance of community entry
• It helps to gain support from the community
leaders, establishing a good working
relationship in all aspects of community
health programmes.
• Objectives will be achieved
• Gain support
• It ensures the establishment of good working
relationship
Importance…
• It helps one to plan his / her work
• It helps to observe protocols
• As care takers in the family, women are key
players in the promotion of primary Health
Care in communities. Women are more
familiar with child health problems
B: Community mobilization and
participation
Community mobilization and
participation
• Community mobilization is the process of
involving and motivating people, health
workers and policy makers to organize and
take action for a common purpose.
• Community Mobilization refers to the process
of building social relationships in pursuit of
common community interests.
Mobilization …
• Community mobilization is the process of
engaging communities to identify community
priorities, resources, needs and solutions in
such a way as to promote representative
participation, good governance, accountability
and peaceful change.
Steps in Community mobilization
• Step 1: Identify the problem/issue.
• Step 2: select a strategy to solve the
problem
• Step 3: Community Mobilization
• Step 4: Implementation through people’s
participation
• Step 5: Assess the results and improve
community
Key tasks in Community
Mobilization
i. Developing an on-going dialogue between
community members
ii. Creating or strengthening community
organizations (Committees etc.)
iii. Creating an environment in which individuals
can empower themselves to address their
own and their community’s needs.
Key tasks in Community
Mobilization …
iv. Promote community members’ participation
Implementation and constant monitoring
v. Assess the results
vii. Revise the strategy wherever necessary
Why community mobilization …
• Community mobilization helps people in the
community to ;
• Identify needs and promote community
interests.
• Promotes good leadership and democratic
decision making.
• Identify specific groups for undertaking
specific problems.
Why community mobilization
• Prevention and control of diseases requires
the cooperation and participation of the
community.
• In order to make the community aware of the
benefits of diseases prevention and control
and the role they can play.
• Community mobilization helps to decrease or
reduce morbidity from diseases in the
community.
• Routray, P., Torondel, B., Jenkins, M.W. et al.
Processes and challenges of community mobilisation
for latrine promotion under Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan in
rural Odisha, India. BMC Public Health 17, 453
(2017). [Link]
• Community Mobilization and Stakeholder
Participation for Development. William/W
Chauke · 2016. ISBN: 9781539420439,
1539420434
