Community Participation Practices in Health-related NGOs in the Western Cape: A Focus on Stakeholders' Perspectives

[摘要] ENGLISH SUMMARY: Community participation has been of interest to health planners, policymakers and activists on a global scale for over thirty years. It was first introduced in 1978 at the Alma-Ata conference and is seen as an essential tool for promoting health and general well-being within different health systems. This study sought to understand the manner in which community participation is practiced and implemented in health-related non-governmental organisations (NGOs), in and around Stellenbosch in the Western Cape. The main purpose was to examine whether community participation policies were implemented as intended by the policymakers. Stakeholders in different health-related NGOs in Stellenbosch participated in this study giving their accounts of community participation policies and practices in their organisations, as well as their direct or indirect involvement in the process of policymaking and implementation. As a result themes developed from participants responses. The participants gave their perspectives on community participation practices within their health-related NGOs. These themes indicated how all NGOs employed the top-down approach and admitted to altering and amending policies to meet the needs of the community they aimed to serve. While NGO stakeholders liaised information about community participation policies from the top-down to community participants they also communicated needs and concerns directly from the community to the policymakers, from the bottom-up. Community participation policies are thus only used as a point of reference and altered to best suit the needs of each unique NGO.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University