Significance of Community

Community membership can be a powerful experience and the meaning of community is not just limited to your neighborhood. Communities can include churches, schools, professional communities, and groups of common interest. Communities can be local, national, or even international. Think about the communities to which you belong and how significant each community is to you and how significant you are to the community. Consider how powerful a community can be if it is united to create change.

For this Discussion, consider the significance of your community memberships and how you might communicate health information to each community. Also, consider whether or not you need to be a member of a community to create change.

With these thoughts in mind:

By Day 3, post a brief description of three significant communities to which you belong and why these communities are in your life. Then explain how your communication about public health issues might differ among these communities. Finally, explain whether or not you must belong to a community in order to communicate health information to members and be effective in promoting change.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.

Respond by Day 5 to a colleagues’ postings in the following way:

• Select a colleague who belongs to a community to which you do not belong and provide suggestions as to how to engage the community to discuss public health issues.

Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.