ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the various definitions of both community participation and project sustainability, the two concepts found to be the ongoing obsession of social science researchers dealing with development studies. It focuses on the arguments and evidence from a subset of scholars and practitioners who seem to strongly support the conventional thinking about community participation and development sustainability. The book discusses the influence of the evolving development administration emphases—centralization and decentralization—to health care service delivery in the Philippines. It also focuses on the experiences of 38 local level development projects and programs that have resulted after the shift to a more decentralized health care delivery system. The book explains an in-depth evaluation of four cases: Matabungkay Population Project, Hanunuo Mangyan Community Health Project, Mindanao Schistosomiasis Control Project, and Nueva Ecija Primary Health Care Project.
