Open AccessIMPROVING THE QUALITY OF COMMUNITY HEALTH SURVEYS AND COMMUNITY HEALTH PROMOTION CAMPAIGNS BY FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY: EXPERIENCE FROM THE WALLSEND COMMUNITY AND HEALTH PROJECT
Author(s) -
Clarke Rufus M.,
Allen Gwen,
McBay Sue,
Heaney Sandra
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
community health studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.946
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1753-6405
pISSN - 0314-9021
DOI - 10.1111/j.1753-6405.1990.tb00017.x
Subject(s) - representativeness heuristic , disadvantaged , publicity , health promotion , community health , psychology , intervention (counseling) , quality (philosophy) , health education , medicine , gerontology , environmental health , nursing , social psychology , public health , political science , business , marketing , law , philosophy , epistemology
A lifestyle and health risk survey was conducted in two socially disadvantaged Collector's Districts, as the basis for a health promotion intervention in one of the Districts. After community input into the planning, and local advance publicity, 395 people responded to the survey (a response rate of 39%). Three sources of community feedback were used: (i) reasons for refusal to participate; (ii) written comments solicited at a two‐month follow‐up; (iii) later, in‐depth interviews with a subset of respondents. The data from this feedback related both to the process and outcomes of the survey; the latter included increased personal and community awareness of health, as well as lifestyle changes. The data are discussed in terms of their representativeness and the factors influencing participation, the implications of the low response rate, the stages of health behaviour change, and the potential conflict between scientific and human value‐systems in community research.