New leaf
Working with Communities in Health and Human Services
Taylor, J, Wilkinson, D and Cheers, B
Oxford University Press,
There is no one right way for working with communities.
Working with Communities in Health and Human Services embeds community participation within social science theory about community and participation and provides students with both the concepts and practical tools essential for increasing community participation in health and human services settings.
The book provides useful theory and practical guidelines to plan for, implement, and evaluate health and social care programs and services.
It analyses issues about community participation, community development, collaborative service and program development in the context of the skills needed by community practitioners in order to practice effectively.
Working with Communities in Health and Human Services uses cases and activities to support a "reflective practice" approach and enable students to develop skills for working with communities with diverse needs
Activities and case studies throughout are drawn from community health and social care practice and are used to illustrate the principles, approaches, and issues related to working with communities.
The importance of integrating people’s experiences with concepts and practical skills is a core theme and provides the basis for learning and working with communities.
The book cover artwork is by Sonia Champion, Indigenous Health Researcher, Spencer Gulf Rural Health School, UniSA and University of Adelaide. This painting represents community work in Aboriginal communities where initial contact is made with a family member, then with other family members, and then connections are made through the families to the kinship network as a whole.
Judy Taylor is a senior research fellow in rural health at the Spencer Gulf Rural Health School, at the University of South Australia and University of Adelaide.
David Wilkinson is Deputy Head of the School of Medicine at Queensland University and established rural and remote health as a field of study at the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia.
Brian Cheers is Research Professor of Community Development and Director of the Centre for Rural and Regional Development at the Whyalla Campus of the University of South Australia.