Guest Editorial: Community Participation in Community Health: A PHACS Information Resource

Abstract

In his foreword to the recent Department of Human Services (DHS) publication Community participation in community health: A PHACS information resource 3 (1999), the Parliamentary Secretary to the Victorian Minister for Health says that the 'heart' of the current primary health and community support (PHACS) reforms is to ensure that the 'locally based alliances' which are to emerge from them will be responsive to client needs, and notes also that the proposed PHACS demonstration projects will have to include plans for community participation. The aim of this Information Resource in the series Towards a stronger primary health and community support system from the Department of Human Services Victoria, is to guide workers in community health agencies, and in the other PHACS services, in developing ways of encouraging community participation. As such, the document provides both a rationale and practical suggestions, and should be a useful resource for board members and staff of community agencies, as well as for those either teaching or studying in such fields as health promotion and health education, where engaging the interest of members of the public is a central purpose.