Community organization influence on local public health care policy: a general research model and comparative case study

Abstract

The community organization literature consists mainly of case descriptions and analyses, on the one hand, and integrative works that prescribe or classify community organization methods or attempt to develop more theoretical models. There is a need for an intermediate level of empirical research that will generate comparable data on several cases, analyze factors that influence community organization, test hypotheses, and help develop an empirically grounded and more rigorous community organization theory. This article presents a research model developed to study community organization influence on local public health care policy. The model is applied in a comparative case study of such community organization experiences in seven California counties. Findings from the study are presented and analyzed, and several factors are identified that were important in the success or failure of these community organization efforts.