Community Development Journal Advance Access originally published online on July 12, 2005
Community Development Journal 2006 41(3):352-366; doi:10.1093/cdj/bsi061
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Multilevel community health promotion: How can we make it work?
Centre on Aging and Department of Sociology, Centre on Aging, University of Victoria
University of Victoria
University of Victoria and Vancouver Island Health Authority
School of Social Work, University of Victoria
Vancouver Island Health Authority
Address for correspondence: Centre on Aging, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 1700 STNCSC, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8W2Y2
The need for multilevel, comprehensive health promotion programmes has become widely accepted, as has the importance of community approaches. However, many health promotion programmes focus on change at the individual level, no doubt partly due to the difficulty of implementing all-inclusive health promotion. This paper discusses two strategies for guiding multilevel projects: multiple methods for community assessment and charting project activities by level of change (a possibility framework). These strategies help ensure a multilevel focus and provide valuable information that can assist with the implementation of multilevel health promotion research projects in specific community contexts. Our primary purpose, therefore, is not to focus on theory or research findings. Rather, our goal is to make visible two strategies that have been helpful in one health promotion research project in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.