TY - JOUR
T1 - Understanding community engagement in end of life care
T2 - developing conceptual clarity
AU - Sallnow, Libby
AU - Paul, Sally
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - Over the past decade, public health approaches to end-of-life care have received increased literature, policy and practice focus. These developments recognise the significance of community engagement activities and their contribution to end-of-life care. In the United Kingdom, community engagement is a priority for the majority of hospices. Nevertheless, there exists some ambiguity about the range of different practice that exists under this heading, the principles underpinning it and the outcomes for the work. Conceptual clarity is an essential next step in the development of this emergent field. The aim of this paper is to present a definition and a conceptual model of community engagement for end-of-life care services and the communities they serve. A spectrum of community engagement in end of life care is presented, derived from models in the general community engagement literature. Types of engagement extend on a continuum from informing through consulting, co-producing, collaborating to empowerment, with the later levels capable of achieving more penetrating health and social change. The factors that affect the type and nature of engagement are represented in boxes at either end, demonstrating that it is not the influence of a single factor, but the overall balance of factors that determines the quality and outcomes of the engagement work. This spectrum is designed to aid professional services and the communities they serve to embark on community engagement projects with an open awareness of the requirements and key components underpinning their success and a shared understanding and language.
AB - Over the past decade, public health approaches to end-of-life care have received increased literature, policy and practice focus. These developments recognise the significance of community engagement activities and their contribution to end-of-life care. In the United Kingdom, community engagement is a priority for the majority of hospices. Nevertheless, there exists some ambiguity about the range of different practice that exists under this heading, the principles underpinning it and the outcomes for the work. Conceptual clarity is an essential next step in the development of this emergent field. The aim of this paper is to present a definition and a conceptual model of community engagement for end-of-life care services and the communities they serve. A spectrum of community engagement in end of life care is presented, derived from models in the general community engagement literature. Types of engagement extend on a continuum from informing through consulting, co-producing, collaborating to empowerment, with the later levels capable of achieving more penetrating health and social change. The factors that affect the type and nature of engagement are represented in boxes at either end, demonstrating that it is not the influence of a single factor, but the overall balance of factors that determines the quality and outcomes of the engagement work. This spectrum is designed to aid professional services and the communities they serve to embark on community engagement projects with an open awareness of the requirements and key components underpinning their success and a shared understanding and language.
KW - community
KW - death
KW - health promotion
UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09581596.2014.909582
U2 - 10.1080/09581596.2014.909582
DO - 10.1080/09581596.2014.909582
M3 - Article
SN - 1469-3682
VL - 25
SP - 231
EP - 238
JO - Critical Public Health
JF - Critical Public Health
IS - 2
ER -