ABSTRACT
The attractiveness to those on both sides of the political spectrum of framing policy in terms of community may lie in its apparent neutrality, which, on the face of it, depoliticizes problems and solutions. In public health, the term community is most frequently applied to a geographic area, place, neighbourhood or administrative unit. Defining communities in terms of values and identities inevitably throws into sharp relief the significance of power and its distribution in communities. In keeping with the political and professional ascendancy of the notion of communities, working in communities has become the predominant way of organizing public health in recent years. Increasingly, building social capital and community capacity are the terms used to describe community-based work. The language of community-based work can be confusing, not just because many terms are contested. Furthermore, the add-on character of community-based approaches tends not to disrupt the main thrust of much mainstream service provision.
