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9.1 Concept of Community Health

Introduction to Community Health
We live in a community. Our community consists of people of different ages, groups,
sexes, caste people engaged in different occupation, etc. Due to different reasons, we find
that the people in the community are affected with different health problems. In order to
prevent diseases or to live in good health, the people in the community work together.
The joint effort made by the people to prevent diseases and promote the health condition
of the community is called community health.
Different types of health services are made available in our community. Some of these
services are provided by the government, some by private organizations and some
by individuals. The main objective of all these health services is to promote the health
condition of the people in the community. Community health is defined as the science
of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health and efficiency through
organized community effort. It focuses on the health problems seen in the community
rather than that of an individual or a family. In the past, it just emphasized on sanitation
but now with the development of science and technology, it emphasizes on preventive,
curative, promotive as well as rehabilitative aspects of health. In this aspect, the joint effort
of individual, family, society and the nation is essential to promote community health.
Community health is a social activity in which the health problems prevalent in the
community are identified. At the same time, the preventive measures for the disease
are also identified to prolong the life and promote health condition of the community
members. It encourages people to change the health behavior and follow the habits of
personal hygiene, intake of balanced diet, exercise and rest, etc. to gain good health.

In brief, community health is an organized effort of the community people in the
identification of the existing health problems and providing health services to the people
to improve health of community people’s as well as environmental health.

Concept of Community Health

An individual’s effort may not be sufficient to gain good health in the community.
It requires a joint effort of the individuals, family, society and the nation. When the
community is healthy, the different diseases that affect the health of the people can
be easily prevented. The experts say that 80% of health is driven by socio-economic
factors, health behaviors and environmental factors. The product of mind cannot
function properly unless we have a healthy body. The importances of community can
be described as follows.

a. Creation of Healthy Environment
Dirty environment is the cause of different types of diseases. It causes different types of
communicable diseases. Community health studies the health problems of the society and the
nation. In the process of study, it also identifies the problems and helps to organize different
activities to solve such problems. It helps to develop awareness among the people to create
healthy environment which is possible through the knowledge of community health.
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