Characteristics of the Process by which Resident Members of Community Organizations Become Aware of Community Issues

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to elucidate the characteristics of the process by which resident members of community organizations become aware of community issues and to obtain ideas for cooperation with public health nurses.

Methods: Group interviews were conducted with members of community organizations supported by the government. Statements related to awareness of community issues were extracted from the transcribed interview data and organized into categories.

Results: Eleven participants were from three community organizations who had a mean age of 71.5 years were included. Participants “were acquainted with the daily life of members of their communities for several years” and “evaluated issues from the perspective of daily life issues” focusing on older people and men. They also “investigated issues further to protect the lives of community residents” by focusing on older people who may have other troubles.

Discussion: The members of the community organizations are typical in that they evaluated and became aware of issues based on the framework that they developed from their experience with community residents’ problems while valuing mutual cooperation based on the relationships with community residents. We concluded that cooperation between community organization members and public health nurses needs to involve community issues relevant to peoples’ lives from the members’ perspective as well as professional evaluations of public health nurses.