The Importance of Community Participation in Kenya in Implementing Healthcare Policy
The inclusion of communities in the development and implementation of primary healthcare policies is crucial for fostering ownership and utilization of these services. According to health scientist Robinson Njoroge Kamau Karuga, this can be achieved by engaging communities through CHCs, or community health committees.
Karuga's research on the inclusion of CHCs concludes that their role is limited due to unequal power dynamics. Community health committees are deliberately excluded from planning processes and are not provided with training, which prevents them from exerting influence. Moreover, the dual role of CHCs—both providing services and supervising the delivery of primary healthcare services—leads to role conflict.
“Health professionals need to be responsive to the needs of the communities they serve by intentionally shifting the balance of power and addressing the structural and relational barriers that lead to the exclusion of individuals and marginalized groups,” Karuga stated.
This doctoral research provides a deeper understanding of the complex contextual factors and interpersonal interactions that affect the functionality of CHCs in Kenya. The study highlights the role of power inequality in community participation. For inclusion to succeed, health professionals and officials must reorient their attitudes and organizational culture to listen to communities and respect local knowledge.
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