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Community-Based Political Interventions

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Community-Based Health Interventions in an Institutional Context

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Abstract

Karie Jo Peralta and Krista McCarthy Noviski investigate the political dimension of community-based organization in this chapter. A central way institutions gain legitimacy and the ability to guide human behavior is through claims of value-neutrality and objectivity. Institutions are often thought to be bureaucratic and based on formal rules that facilitate decision-making in almost any sphere of life. In the case of health organizations, the language of science, technology, and standardization guide how community needs and the authority of health practitioners are understood. In this context, health professionals attain their unique status vis-à-vis patients and community members. But this dichotomy can contradict the aims of community-based health interventions. In particular, health organizations become the center of health assessments, while medical professionals attain greater power to direct health initiatives as opposed to patients. Nonetheless, community health workers, for example, require respect and legitimacy. In this chapter, the political dimension of community-based health organization is discussed, along with the challenges this model presents to conventional depictions of health institutions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, The University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA

    Karie Jo Peralta & Krista McCarthy Noviski

Authors
  1. Karie Jo Peralta
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  2. Krista McCarthy Noviski
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Correspondence to Karie Jo Peralta .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Psychology, University of North Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA

    Steven L. Arxer

  2. Department of Sociology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA

    John W. Murphy

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Peralta, K.J., McCarthy Noviski, K. (2019). Community-Based Political Interventions. In: Arxer, S., Murphy, J. (eds) Community-Based Health Interventions in an Institutional Context. International Perspectives on Social Policy, Administration, and Practice. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24654-9_9

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