Reconsidering Community-based Health Promotion: Promise, Performance, and Potential

Overview

Journal Am J Public Health

Specialty Public Health

Date 2003 Mar 28

PMID 12660197

Citations 213

Authors

Cheryl Merzel

Joanna DAfflitti

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Contemporary public health emphasizes a community-based approach to health promotion and disease prevention. The evidence from the past 20 years indicates, however, that many community-based programs have had only modest impact, with the notable exception of a number of HIV prevention programs. To better understand the reasons for these outcomes, we conducted a systematic literature review of 32 community-based prevention programs. Reasons for poor performance include methodological challenges to study design and evaluation, concurrent secular trends, smaller-than-expected effect sizes, limitations of the interventions, and limitations of theories used. The effectiveness of HIV programs appears to be related in part to extensive formative research and an emphasis on changing social norms.

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