Capturing contrasted realities: integrating multiple perspectives of Danish community life in health promotion

Abstract

Communities in health literature are often treated as homogeneous entities, in which community members are believed to share needs, goals, resources and social and cultural values. This perception of community is too narrow to grasp the complexity and dynamics of community life and neglect the different ways community members use, perceive and interact in their community. In this study, we outline a theoretical approach that embraces community diversity, by focusing on how community life is being practiced by its members and how they interact with each other. Adopting this theoretical approach, ethnographic fieldwork was conducted in a multi-ethnic and socially deprived neighbourhood in Denmark, which had undergone a long process of community building. We found five major ways of community practices based on interactions (i) in specific community spaces, (ii) related to specific activities, (iii) in sharing experiences of community history, (iv) on loyalty within one's social networks and (v) on sharing ethnicity. Distinguishing between different modes of interacting in community, offers a holistic perspective that includes those 'invisible' community members who usually do not participate in community development programmes. We argue that working with a more thorough understanding of the contrasting realities of community life is particularly useful for health professionals who are engaged in community organizing and in encouraging members to participate in building healthy communities.