Community Oriented Primary Care and Macro Social Work Practice

Abstract

Community Oriented Primary Care (COPC), an approach based on community-professional partnerships and incorporating the principles of empowerment, links medicine, public health, and macro social work practice through interdisciplinary teams. The steps of the COPC model systematically identify, prioritize, and address health problems. This process works by forming “cluster committees” of public health stakeholders. The approach draws heavily on skills associated with community organizing, task-oriented group work, planning, program development, and participatory evaluation. It shows great promise for both improving public health practice and increasing the role of macro social work in this process.