Community Capacity Building, Community Development and Health: A Case Study of ‘Health Issues in the Community’

Abstract

The overall aim of this chapter is to introduce the concept of community capacity building (CCB) and to illustrate how a recent research project explored CCB, community development and health by interviewing participants involved in Health Issues in the Community (HIIC) courses in Scotland. This chapter is divided into three sections: first, the HIIC course and case study are described. Second, the concepts of community and CCB are considered and linked to illustrative findings from the case study. The final section examines CCB and collective and personal health and presents data indicating how participants’ health may have been influenced through completing a HIIC course.