Project community diagnosis: participatory research as a first step toward community involvement in primary health care
Nichter, M.
Social Science and Medicine 19(3): 237-252
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0277-9536 PMID: 6484613 DOI: 10.1016/0277-9536(84)90215-6Document Number: 405423
This paper advocates a deprofessionalization of social science as a first step towards community involvement in primary health care. Deprofessionalization is suggested as an adjunct to, not a replacement for in-depth professional social science research. An explanatory community diagnosis of a health project conducted in rural South India is described. During the project, lay researchers received rudimentary social science field training, and collected data on health behaviour deemed important to health planners as well as the health concerns of the community. Data generated by the project are presented on the utilization of government health facilities by the rural poor, their attitudes towards Primary Health Centre staff, and their ideas about how a proposed community health worker scheme should best serve them.
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