Evidence & Practice

Community engagement: what the NICE guidance means for community practitioners

Anne-Marie Bagnall Reader, Centre for Health Promotion Research, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, England

Judith White Senior lecturer, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, England

Jane South Professor, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, England; National Adviser - Communities, Public Health England

This article draws on updated guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2016) on community engagement, and the evidence that informed that guidance, to discuss the role and potential of engaging with the community in primary care to improve health and well-being.

In practice, there are several different ways of engaging with communities, and practitioners need to choose the way that fits best with their project, community and ways of working – Public Health England and NHS England (2015) maps the range of evidence-based options.

Two examples are used to illustrate different approaches to community engagement: one in which lay people from the community provided diabetes education, and one in which volunteers worked with a specialist nurse to provide a holistic arthritis support service.

Primary Health Care. doi: 10.7748/phc.2017.e1192

Correspondence

a.bagnall@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

Received: 12 July 2016

Accepted: 08 February 2017

Published online: 17 June 2017

Keywords :

community engagement - community practitioners - empowerment - health and well-being - NICE - primary care - public health - volunteers