Chapter 3: Primary Health Care

➢ INTRODUCTION
The improvement in health quality of the population is a
continuing challenge for societies and governments. In spite of
the many advances in medical practice and health sciences in
past years, the vast majority of the population still barely meet
the minimum standards for health care and human develop-
ment.
Faced with the inadequacies in health services, the emer-
gence of lifestyle diseases, new and uncontrolled communicable
diseases, maldistribution of health resources, and the worsening
social and economic status of the marginalized, some societies
and governments are not able to cope adequately to meet the
needs of the population.
Cont.
➢ In the age of globalization, health and health problems
too become global.
➢ Health care is not just a problem of poor developing
countries; even the wealthiest countries are facing
health care concerns.
➢ An overall approach in the delivery of health services is
necessary – a strategy that engages both the health
workers and the people themselves as partners, and a
strategy that is affordable to the government yet still
effective and acceptable to the communities, a strategy
that ensures access to the health care regardless of
economic class.
Cont.
➢ The World Health Organization (WHO) has long champ-
ioned a strategy that it believes is the key to most of
the health problems.
➢ The WHO has not wavered in its promotion for the
global implementation of primary health care (PHC).
Brief History Of Primary Health Care
❖ Sept. 6-12, 1978, health leaders from around 200 coun-
tries attended the International Conference for Primary
Health Care held at Alma Ata, USSR initiated by the WHO
and United Nations Children’s Fund (International
Conference on Primary Health Care, Alma-Ata, 1978).

❖ Together, they expressed the need for concerted efforts

by all governments and health and development workers
for the protection and promotion of health of all the
people.
Cont.

❖ The Alma-Ata Conference made the following

declarations:
> Health is a basic fundamental right.
> There exists global burden of health inequalities
among populations
> Economic and social development is of basic
importance for the full attainment of health for all.
> Governments have a responsibility for the health of
their health of their people.
Cont. History of PHC

❑ PHC was strategy was later adopted in the Philippines

by virtue of Letter of Instruction (LOI) 949 of 1979,
making the Philippines the first country in Asia to embark
on meeting the challenge of PHC (Bautista, 2001).

❑ Basic to the PHC declaration is the common view that

health “is a state of complete physical, mental and
social wellbeing, not merely the absence of disease or
infirmity” (WHO, 1978).
Cont. History PHC

❑ For WHO, wellness can be achieved by considering

different factors that interdependently influence the
health of the population, such as the environment,
education, social services, and politics/leadership.

❑ Health is also seen as a means of achieving develop-

ment.
❑ Government investment in the health of the population
is ultimately linked to the country’s development. A
healthy population has the capability to contribute
more to its development. In the Philippines the average
allocation for the health services from 2005 to 2007
was only 3.3% of the gross national product (GNP)
Definition of Primary Health Care
❖ According to the Alma-Ata Declaration, PHC “is essential
health care based on practical, scientifically sound and
socially acceptable methods and technology made uni-
versally accessible to individuals and families in the
community through their full participation and at a cost
that the community and country can afford to maintain
at every stage of their development in the spirit of self-
reliance and self-determination.

❖ The universal goal of PHC as a stated in the Alma Ata

Declaration is “health for all” by the year 2000.
Cont.
❑ Health for all by the year 2000 has three main
objectives:
1. promotion of healthy lifestyles,
2. prevention of diseases, and
3. therapy for existing conditions
❑ PHC in the Philippines, President Ferdinand Marcos signed
the LOI 949 that has an underlying theme, “Health in the
Hands of the People by 2020”.
Five key elements to achieving the goal
of “health for all” (WHO)

❑ 1. Reducing exclusion and social disparities in health

(universal coverage).
❑ 2. Organizing health services around people’s needs
and expectations (health service reforms)
❑ 3. Integrating health into all sectors (public policy
reforms)
❑ 4. Pursuing collaborative models of policy dialogue
(leadership reforms)
❑ 5. Increasing stakeholder participation
Alma Ata Declaration listed eight essential
health services, using the acronym ELEMENTS
❑ E – Education for health
❑ L – Locally endemic disease control
❑ E – Expanded program for immunization
❑ M – Maternal and child health including responsible
parenthood
❑ E – Essential drugs
❑ N – Nutrition
❑ T – Treatment of communicable and noncommunicable
diseases
❑ S – Safe water and sanitation
KEY PRINCIPLES OF PRIMARY HEALTH
CARE

❖ Accessibility, affordability, acceptability, and availability

❖ Support mechanism
❖ Multisectoral approach
❖ Community participation
❖ Equitable distribution of health resources
❖ Appropriate technology
 4 As Primary Health Care
❖ 1. Accessibility – refers to the physical distance of a
health facility or the travel time required for
people to get the needed or desired health
services.
❖ 2. Affordability – is not in consideration of the individual
or family’s capacity to pay for basic health
services. It is also a matter of whether the
community or government can afford these
services.
Cont. 4 As of Primary Health Care

❖ 3. Acceptability – means that the health care offered is

in consonance with the prevailing culture and
traditions of the population.
❖ 4. Availability – is a question of whether the basic health
services required by the people are offered in
the health care facilities or is provided on a
regular and organized manner.
Consider the following programs and analyze
them according to the 4 As
➢ 1. Botika ng Bayan and the Botika ng Barangay – These
drugstores were established by the Philippine
government to promote equity in health by
ensuring the availability and accessibility of
affordable, safe and effective, quality essential
drugs to all, with priority given to the margina-
lized, underserved, critical, and hard to reach
areas.
➢ 2. “Ligtas sa Tigdas ang Pinas” mass measles immuni-
zation campaign.
Support Mechanisms
✓ The resources for essential health services come from
three major entities:
1. the people themselves
2. the government, and
3. the private sector like NGOs and socio-civic and
faith groups
✓ Multisectoral Approach
As health and disease are outcomes of multiple
interrelated factors, PHC requires communication,
cooperation, and collaboration within and among
various sectors. This is exemplified through
intrasectoral and intersectoral linkages.
Intrasectoral Linkages

✓ Intrasectoral linkages – refer to communication,

cooperation, and collaboration within the health
sector: among the members of the health team and
among health agencies. This is exemplified by the
team approach utilized by the personnel of a health
center in dealing with health conditions and
problems.
> The two way referral system ensures competent
care, maximum use of availability of resources
and continuity of care.
Intersectoral Linkages

✓ Intersectoral linkages encompass the communication,

cooperation, and collaboration between the health
sector and other sectors of society like education,
public works, agriculture, and local government
officials. Example of intersectoral linkages is the
Rabies and Control Program. It requires collabora-
tive effort among the DOH, Dept. of Agriculture,
DepEd, and local government units (LGUs).
Community Participation

✓ Community participation – is an educational and

empowering process in which people, in partnership
with those who are able to assist them, identify the
problems and the needs and increasingly assume
responsibilities themselves to plan, manage,
control, and assess the collective actions that are
proved necessary.
Equitable Distribution of Health
Resources
✓ PHC advocates for care that is community-based and
preventive in orientation. It calls for an inventory
and analysis of health resources, facilities, and
manpower.
✓ According to the Health Manpower Development and
Training Services, the Philippines has an oversupply
of graduates of medicine and nursing, but they
tend to flock to the urban rather than to the rural
areas.
Cont.

✓ DOH is spearheading two programs to ensure equitable

distribution of manpower to the rural areas; these
programs are:
> 1. Doctor to the Barrios (DTTB) Program
2. Registered Nurses Health Enhancement and
Local Service (RN HEALS)
✓ Appropriate technology – refers to the technology that is
suitable to the community that will use it. To
better capture its essence, the terms “ people’s
technology” and “indigenous technology” are used
in reference to appropriate technology.
Criteria for Appropriate Health
Technology

➢ 1. Safety – This means that the technology results in

minimal risk to the user and that the intended
positive outcomes of the use of a technology far
outweigh its unintended negative effects.
2. Effectiveness – The technology should accomplish
what it is meant to accomplish.
3. Affordability – Measures for health promotion and
disease prevention are cost-effective in
comparison to treatment of diseases.
Cont. Criteria for Appropriate Health
Technology
4. Simplicity – The technology that requires readily
available simple materials and that involves a
simpler process in its use can be more easily
adopted by the people in the community when
and where applicable.
5. Acceptability – Technology is effective only when it is
used by those who need it.
6. Feasibility and reliability – The technology must be
easy to apply considering the people’s natural
settings like the home, school, work place, and
community.
Cont. Criteria for Appropriate Health
Technology

7. Ecological effects – Effects on ecology are an

important consideration in choosing or rejecting
a particular technology.
8. Potential to contribute to individual and community
development. Appropriate technology promotes
self-sufficiency on the part of those using it.
Traditional and Alternative Health Care

❑ R.A. 8423 – or the Traditional and Alternative Medicine

Act of 1997 was signed into law through the efforts
of then Secretary of Health Juan Flavier.

❑ R.A. 8423 – created the Philippine Institute of Traditional

and Alternative Health Care, which is tasked to
promote and advocate the use of traditional and
alternative health care modalities through the
scientific research and product development.
Cont. Traditional and Alternative Health
Care
❑ R.A. 8423 – defined traditional medicine as the “sum
total of knowledge, skills, and practice on health
care, not necessarily explicable in the context of
modern, scientific philosophical framework, but
recognized by the people to help maintain and
improve their health towards the wholeness of
their being, the community and society, and their
interrelations based on culture, history, heritage,
and consciousness”.
Cont. Traditional and Alternative Health
Care
❑ Traditional Health Program (DOH) – endorsed 10
medicinal plants to be used as herbal medicines in
the Philippines due to their proven health benefits
as attested by the National Science and
Development Board.

❑ The 10 Medicinal Plants endorsed by the DOH

> 1. Lagundi – Indication: Asthma, cough and colds,
fever, dysentery, pain. Skin diseases (scabies,
ulcer, eczema), wounds.
Preparation: Decoction- Wash affected site with
decoction.
Cont. 10 Medicinal Plants
> 2. Yerba buena – Indication: Headache, stomachache
Cough and colds; Rheumatism, arthritis.
Preparation: Decoction; Infusion; Massage
sap.
> 3. Sambong – Indication: Antiedema/antiurolithiasis.
Preparation: Decoction.
> 4. Tsaang gubat – Indication: Diarrhea; Stomachache.
Preparation: Decoction.
> 5. Niyog-niyogan – Indication: Antihelmenthic.
Preparation: Seeds are used.
> 6. Bayabas – Indication: Washing wounds; Diarrhea,
gargle, toothache. Preparation: Decoction.
Cont. 10 Medicinal Plants

> 7. Akapulko – Indication: Antifungal. Preparation:

Poultice.
> 8. Ulasimang bato/Pansit-pansitan – Indication:
Lowers blood uric acid (rheumatism and
gout). Preparation: Decoction; Eaten raw.
> 9. Bawang – Indication: Hypertension; lowers blood
cholesterol ; Toothache. Preparation: Eaten
raw/fried; Apply on part.
> 10. Ampalaya – Indication: Diabetes mellitus (mild
non-insulin-dependent). Preparation:
Decoction; Steamed.
Primary Health Care versus Primary Care
❖ Primary Health Care – is a strategy for the delivery of
health programs.
❖ Primary Care – according to American Association of
Family Medicine, primary care includes health
promotion, disease prevention, health
maintenance, counselling, patient education, and
diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic ill-
nesses in a variety of health care settings (e.g.,
office, inpatient, critical care, long-term care,
home care, day care).
❖ Primary Care is performed and managed by a personal
physician often collaborating with other health
professionals and utilizing consultation or referral.
Cont.

❖ PHC – is a strategy for health care delivery focusing on

the community, family, and individuals, while
primary nursing is a model of nursing care that
emphasizes continuity of care by having one nurse
providing complete care for a small group of in-
patients within a nursing unit of a hospital. Nursing
care is directed towards meeting all of the indi-
vidualized patient needs.
Chapter 4: COMMUNITY ORGANIZING:
Ensuring Health in the Hands of the People

❖ INTRODUCTION:
Public Health services in the Philippines are
planned and implemented by applying the primary health
care approach. With the goal of developing self-reliance,
premium is placed on community participation. This
requires the development of organized communities that
recognize and analyze their own health concerns, plan
and implement concerted actions to deal with these
health concerns, evaluate the outcomes of their
concerted actions, and sustain their own community organiza-
tion.
Cont. Introduction

❖ In their role as community organizers, community

health nurses promote community health by working with
the people, enabling them to utilize their own resources,
and establishing linkages with the local government and
other agencies that provide them with the resources
needed for community development.
Definition of Community Organizing
✓ Community organizing as a process consists of steps or activities
that instill and reinforce the people’s self-confidence on their
own collective strengths and capabilities (Manalili, 1990).
> It is the development of the community’s collective
capacities to solve its own problems and aspire for
development through its own efforts.

✓ Community organizing - is defined as a process of educating and

mobilizing members of the community to enable them to
resolve community problems.
> It is a means to build the community’s capacity to work for
the common good in general and health goals in particular.
Cont.
✓ Common Goals of Community Organizing and
Community Health Nursing Practice:
> 1. People empowerment,
2. Development of a self-reliant community, and
3. Improved quality of life
✓ Teaching communities and building building their
capacities will empower them, make them aware
of their power to assert their rights, and allow
them to make decisions over matters that affect
their lives.
Emphases of the community organizing
in primary health care are the following:
1. People from the community working together to
solve their own problems.
2. Internal organizational consolidation as a
prerequisite to external expansion.
3. Social movement first before technical change.
4. Health reforms occurring within the context of
broader social transformation.
❖ Community development is the end goal of community
organizing and all efforts towards uplifting the
status of the poor and marginalized.
Community development entails a process of:

 Assessment of the current situation,

 The identification of the needs ,
 Deciding on appropriate courses of actions or responses,
 Mobilization of resources to address these needs, and
 Monitoring and evaluation by the people
❖ Community organizing
Basic values in community organizing:
1. Human rights
2. Social justice
3. Social responsibility
❖ Human rights – are universally held principles anchored
mainly on the belief in the worth and dignity of
people.
❖ Social justice – means equitable access to opportunities
for satisfying people’s basic needs and dignity.
❖ Social responsibility – is premised on the belief that the
people as social beings must not limit themselves
to their own concerns but should reach out to and move
jointly with others in meeting common needs and problems.
Core Principles In Community Organizing

❑ 1. Community organizing is people centered.

It is people-centered (Brown, 1998) in the sense
that the process of critical inquiry is informed by
and responds to the experiences and needs of the
marginalized sectors/people.

❑ 2. Community organizing is participative.

The participation of the community in the entire
process – assessment, planning, implementation,
and evaluation – should be ensured. The
community is an active participant, learning
more from what they do and experience, rather
than from what is said to them.
Cont. Core Principles in Community
Organizing
❑ 3. Community organizing is democratic.
> Community organizing should empower the
disadvantaged population. It is a process that
allows the majority of people to recognize and
critically analyze their difficulties and articulate
their aspirations. Hence, their decisions must
reflect the will of the common people, than that
of the leaders and the elite.
❑ 4. Community organizing is developmental.
> Community organizing should be directed towards changing
current undesirable conditions. The organizer desires
changes for the betterment of the community.
Cont. Core Principles in Community
Organizing
❑ 5. Community organizing is process-oriented.
> The community organizing goals of empowerment and
development are achieved through the process of change.
Organizers follow the community organizing process to
achieve its goals. Allowing the community to internalize and
embrace the process requires time.
Phases of Community Organizing:

❑ 1. Pre-entry
2. Entry into the Community
> Considerations in the entry phase
3. Community integration
> Integration styles
4. Social analysis
5. Identifying potential leaders
6. Core group formation
7. Community organization
8. Action phase
9. Evaluation
10. Exit and expansion phase
Phases of Community Organizing
❑ 1. Pre-entry
> Pre-entry involves preparation on the part of the organizer
and choosing a community for partnership.
> Preparation includes knowing the goals of the community
organizing activity or experience. It may also be necessary
delineate criteria or guidelines for site selection. Making a list
of sources of information and possible facility resources, both
government and private.
> Skills in community organizing is developed on the job or
through an experiential approach. For novice organizers
( Example student), preparation includes a study or review of
the basic concepts of community organizing.
Phases of Community Organizing
❑ 2. Entry into the community.
> Entry into the community formalizes the start of the
organizing process. This is the stage where the organizer gets
to know the community and the community likewise gets to
know the organizer.
> An important to remember during this phase is to make
courtesy calls to local formal leaders (mayor and municipal
council, barangay chairperson, council members, etc.).
> Visit also to informal leaders recognized in the community,
like the elders, local health workers, traditional healers,
church leaders and local neighborhood association leaders.
Considerations in the Entry Phase
❑ Get to know and understand the community we are working with.
❑ The community organizer’s responsibility to clearly introduce
themselves and their institution to the community.
❑ A clear explanation of the vision, mission, goals, programs, and
activities must be given in all initial meetings and contacts with the
community.
❑ The community organizer must have a basic understanding of the
target community.
❑ Preparation for the initial visit includes gathering basic information
on socioeconomic conditions, traditions including religious
practices, overall physical environment, general health and illness
patterns, and available health resources.
Considerations in the Entry Phase
❑ The community organizer must keep in mind that the goal of the
process is to build up the confidence and capacities of people.
❑ Two strategies for gaining entry into a community as describes by
Manalili (1990):
1. Padrino entry – where the organizer gains entry into the
community through a padrino or patron, usually a
barangay or some other local government officials.
2. Bongga entry – seen as the easiest way to catch the
attention and gain the “approval” of the community. This
exploits the people’s weaknesses and usually involves
dole-outs, such as free medicines. This creates unreasonable
expectations and also reinforces a dole-out mentality, which
contradicts the essence of community organizing.
Phases of Community Organizing
❑ 3. Community Integration
> Community integration, termed as pakikipamuhay, is the
phase when the organizer may actually live in the
community in an effort to understand the community better
and imbibe community life. The establishment of rapport
between the organizer and the people indicates a successful
integration.
> If organizers are working for the poor, then they must live
and work with the poor. Integration frequently requires
immersion in community life. This is stage is a gradual
process. The organizer must consciously discard the “visitor”
or “guest” image. It is important to respect for community
culture and traditions. The organizer’s conduct as well as
manner of dressing must be in accordance with the norms of
the community.
Integration styles as to Manalili (1990)

❖ “ Now you see, now you don’t” style.

> The organizer visits the community as per schedule but it is
not able to transcend the “guest” status. As a result, the
organizer cannot break down the barriers between him/her
and the people, and does not get the chance to better
understand the villagers’ way of life.
❖ “Boarder” style.
> The organizer rents a room or a house in the village, lives
his/her own life, and does not share the life of the
community. As a result, the organizer is regarded as a guest
or boarder in the house.
Cont. Integration Styles (Manalili)
❖ “Elitist” style.
> The organizer with the barangay chairman, or
some other prominent person in the community.
This style makes integration with the larger
community difficult.
People-centered approach in integration
❑ The organizers enter the community with a well-
conceived plan. They establish contact with villagers
who become their allies. With its emphasis on being
where the people are, this allows the organizers to
develop a deeper relationship with the whole commu-
nity through various techniques. This approach is
recommended to guarantee success of the organizing
work.
❑ Four techniques to facilitate community integration
(by Manalili, 1990):
1. Pababahay-bahay or occasional home visits.
2. Huntahan
 Cont. Techniques to facilitate
community integration

3. Participation in the production process

4. Participation in social activities

❖ Pababahay-bahay or occasional home visits.

> This is an effective way of developing a close
relationship with the community. The organizer
observe the daily schedule of activities of
households to avoid inconvenience on the part of
the families.
Cont.
❖ Huntahan
> Informal conversations help a lot in integrating
with the community.
❖ Participation in the production process.
> The organizer participates in livelihood activities,
such as farming in an agricultural community.
❖ Participation in social activities.
> Social functions and activities help the organizer
and the people to get to know each other through
face-to-face encounters. Example: Fiestas,
wedding, baptismal celebrations and others.
Social Analysis
✓ Social analysis – is the process of gathering,collating, and
analyzing data to gain extensive understanding of
community conditions, help in the identification of
problems of the community, and determine the root
causes of these problems.
> This process is also referred to as social inves-
tigation, community study, community analysis,
or community needs assessment.
✓ Social analysis requires a comprehensive analysis of the
following factors:
> 1. demographic data 5. data on health patterns
2. sociocultural data (morbidity, mortality, fertility)
3. economic data 6. data on health resources
4. environmental data
Identifying Potential leaders

➢ The organizer identifies partners and potential leaders

who will help lead the people. The organizer’s
interactions with the people during community
integration and community study provide the
opportunity to identify prospective allies in the
organizing efforts, particularly credible and influen-
tial members of the community who have expressed
willingness to participate in community activities.
Identifying Potential Leaders
❑ Qualities of potential leaders:
> leadership potentials
> organizational abilities
> motivations
❑ Other characteristics of potential leaders:
> They represent the target group/community.
> They have the trust and confidence of the community.
> They express belief in the need to change the current
undesirable situation in the community, that the
change is possible, and that change must begin with
the members of the community.
> They are willing to invest time and effort for commu-
nity organizing work.
> They must have potential management skills.
Core Group Formation

❖ As the organizer works with potential community

leaders, the membership of the group is expanded,
by asking them to invite one or two of their
neighbors or friends. These new recruits must be
from the community, sharing the same problems the
group seeks to correct, at the same time believing in
the same core values, principles, and strategies the
group is employing.
Community Organization
❑ Through various means of information disseminations ,
the core group, with the assistance of the organizer,
instills awareness of common concerns among the
members of the community. On the initiative of the
core group, the community conducts an assembly or
a series of assemblies, with the goals of arriving at a
common understanding of community concerns and
formulating a plan of action in dealing with these
concerns.
❑ To formalize the organization it must have the following
characteristics:
> An organizational name and structure
> A set of officers recognized by the members of the community
Cont. Characteristics of an organization
> Constitution and bylaws stating the vision, mission,
and goals (VMG), and duties and responsibilities of
its officers and members.
Action Phase
> Action phase or mobilization phase refers to the
implementation of the community’s planned projects
and programs.
> Important considerations during the mobilization
phase are as follows:
1. Allow the community to determine the pace
and scope of project implementation.
2. The process is as important as the output.
3. Regular monitoring and continuing community
formation program are essential.
Evaluation

❖ Evaluation is a systemic, critical analysis of the current

state of the organization and/or projects compared
to desired or planned goals or objectives.
❖ Evaluation is done periodically during mobilization (i.e.,
formative evaluation) to allow revision of strategies
when needed and at the end of the prescribed
project (i.e., summative evaluation).
❖ Two major areas of evaluation in community organizing:
1. program-based evaluation
2. organizational evaluation
Exit and Expansion Phase
❑ From the start, the organizer must have a clear vision
of the end with a general time frame in mind. For
Manalili (1990), “the best entry plan is an exit plan.”

❑ The time required for community organizing depends on

the diligence of the community organizer and the
acceptance by the community.

❑ The time of exit should be mutually determined by the

organizer and the community during a meeting for
monitoring and evaluation.
Indications of readiness for exit by the
community organizer should include:
❑ 1. Attainment of the set goals of the community
organizing efforts,
2. Demonstration of the capacity of the people’s
organization to lead the community in dealing with
common problems, and
3. People empowerment as manifested by collective
involvement in decision making and community
action on matters that impact their lives.
❑ During the exit phase, the organizer may start exploring
another community to organize, that is, expanding
to another area.
Goals of Community Organizing
❑ 1. People’s empowerment.
> Community organizing is aimed at achieving
effective power for the power. Through the
process of community organizing, people learn
to overcome their powerless and develop their
capacity to maximize their control over the
situation and start to place the future in their
own hands.
❑ 2. Building relatively permanent structures and people’s
organizations. Community organizing aims to
establish and sustain relatively permanent
organizational structures that best serve the
needs and aspirations of the people.
Goals of Community Organizing

❑ 3. Improved quality of life.

> Community organizing also seeks to secure
short- and long-term improvements in the
quality of life of the people.
> The process of mobilization can gain conces-
sions for fulfilling basic needs for food, clothing
shelter, education, and health.
Community Organizing Participatory
Action Research
❖ Participatory action research (PAR) – is an approach to
research that aims at promoting change among the
participants.
❖ PAR was first introduced in the mid-1990. This is useful
❖ tool for community organizing.
❖ Community Organizing Participatory Action Research
(COPAR) is a community development approach
that allows the community (participatory) to
systematically analyze the situation (research),plan
a solution, and implement projects/programs
(action) utilizing the process of community organi-
zing.
Community Organizing Participatory Action
Research (COPAR)
❖ For COPAR to succeed, the nurse-researcher must be
able to adopt methodologies that are creative,
interesting, and easy to apply at the community
level.
❖ The major role of the nurse in COPAR is to facilitate and
guide the community in the critical assessment of the
situation.
❖ COPAR requires the nurse to use techniques that not only
provide a wealth of relevant information but also
allow meaningful participation of as many members of the
community as possible.
Basic Qualities of a Community Organizer
➢ 1. Has exemplary professional and moral qualities.
2. Possesses good communication/facilitation skills to
be able to call and lead small group discussions/
trainings and community meetings.
3. Has the ability to set good leadership examples for
the community to emulate.
4. Displays a charismatic personality that draws people
towards the organizing work and community
activities.
5. Adopts and enjoys working with and living with all
types of communities/people.
6. Can emphatize with the people or community he/she
is working with.
Basic Qualities of Community Organizer

7. Believes in the vision of change, empowerment,

and development.
8. Has a personal conviction consistent with the
values and principles being advocated.