Community Health aims to equip Learners with a developed understanding of health from both social science and public health perspectives. Learners can analyse the factors influencing health within communities, interpret patterns of health and disease and apply community-based approaches to health promotion and prevention. Upon successful completion, Learners have the ability to apply community health principles to planning, assessment and intervention within diverse population settings.
Foundations of Community Health
- Meaning and scope of community health
- Relationship between health, environment and community well-being
- Determinants of health: biological, environmental, socio-economic, cultural
- Primary Health Care (PHC) principles
- Health promotion and disease prevention at community level
Organisation of Community Health Services
- Structure of community health systems
- Roles of community health workers (CHWs)
- Community participation in health programmes
- Intersectoral collaboration in community health
- Traditional and modern health practices
Community Diagnosis and Health Assessment
- Purpose of community diagnosis
- Steps in conducting a community health assessment
- Data collection tools: surveys, observation, interviews
- Identifying community health problems and priorities
- Using community data for planning interventions
Environmental Health in the Community
- Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)
- Waste disposal and vector control
- Food hygiene and safety
- Pollution, housing and environmental hazards
- Community-based strategies for environmental health improvement
Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases
- Prevention and control of typical communicable diseases
- Immunisation and community surveillance
- Recognising and managing NCD risks
- Integrated disease prevention strategies
- Role of CHWs in early detection and referral
Maternal and Child Health (MCH)
- Antenatal, delivery and postnatal care
- Nutrition and growth monitoring
- Infant feeding practices
- Preventing maternal and child morbidity
- Community strategies for improving MCH outcomes
Health Education and Behaviour Change Communication
- Principles of health education
- Behaviour change models in community health
- Designing effective health messages
- Engaging communities in health-promoting behaviour
- Monitoring and evaluating education interventions
Community-Based Health Planning and Management
- Planning cycle in community health
- Setting priorities and defining objectives
- Mobilising community resources
- Supervising and supporting community health programs
- Evaluation and reporting at the community level
Example Candidate Response Booklet
Example Candidate Response (ECR) Booklets are a source of crucial information for Centres and Candidates as they use real candidate responses. We ask Senior Examiners to comment on five or more responses in terms of why the mark was awarded with commentary about how to improve the answer (if necessary).
