COPAR

COPAR or Community Organizing Participatory Action Research is a

vital part of public health nursing.
COPAR aims to transform the apathetic, individualistic and voiceless
poor into dynamic, participatory and politically responsive community.
Definition
• COPAR stands for Community Organizing Participatory Action Research
• A social development approach that aims to transform the apathetic,
individualistic and voiceless poor into dynamic, participatory and
politically responsive community.
• A collective, participatory, transformative, liberative, sustained and
systematic process of building people’s organizations by mobilizing and
enhancing the capabilities and resources of the people for the
resolution of their issues and concerns towards effecting change in their
existing oppressive and exploitative conditions (1994 National Rural
Conference).
• A process by which a community identifies its needs and objectives,
develops confidence to take action in respect to them and in doing so,
extends and develops cooperative and collaborative attitudes and
practices in the community (Ross 1967).
• A continuous and sustained process of educating the people to
understand and develop their critical awareness of their existing
condition, working with the people collectively and efficiently on their
immediate and long-term problems, and mobilizing the people to
develop their capability and readiness to respond and take action on
their immediate needs towards solving their long-term problems (CO:
A manual of experience, PCPD)
PROCESS
• The sequence of steps whereby members of a community come
together to critically assess to evaluate community conditions and
work together to improve those conditions.
STRUCTURE
• Refers to a particular group of community members that work
togetherfor a common health and health related goals
EMPHASIS
1. Community working to solve its own problem.
2. Direction is established internally and externally.
3. Development and implementation of a specific project less important
than the development of the capacity of the community to establish
the project.
4. Consciousness raising involves perceiving health and medical care
within the total structure of society.
IMPORTANCE
1. COPAR is an important tool for community development and people
empowerment as this helps the community workers to generate
community participation in development activities.
2. COPAR prepares people/clients to eventually take over the
management of a development .programs in the future.
3. COPAR maximizes community participation and involvement;
community resources are mobilized for community services
PRINCIPLES
1. People especially the most oppressed, exploited and deprived
sectors are open to change, have the capacity to change and are able to
bring about change.
2. COPAR should be based on the interest of the poorest sector of the
community.
3. COPAR should lead to a self-reliant community and society
CRITICAL STEPS
1. Integration
2. Social Investigation
3. Tentative program planning
4. Groundwork
5. Meeting
6. Role Play
7. Mobilization or action
8. Evaluation
9. Reflection
10. Organization
PRE-ENTRY PHASE
• Is the initial phase of the organizing process where the community
organizer looks for communities to serve and help.
Activities include:
• Preparation of the Institution
• Train faculty and students in COPAR.
• Formulate plans for institutionalizing COPAR.
• Revise/enrich curriculum and immersion program.
• Coordinate participants of other departments.
SITE SELECTION
• Initial networking with local government.
• Conduct preliminary special investigation.
• Make long/short list of potential communities.
• Do ocular survey of listed communities
Criteria for Initial Site Selection
• Must have a population of 100-200 families.
• Economically depressed.
• No strong resistance from the community.
• No serious peace and order problem.
• No similar group or organization holding the same program
Identifying Potential Municipalities
• Make long/short list of potential municipalities.

Identifying Potential Community.

• Do the same process as in selecting municipality.
• Consult key informants and residents.
• Coordinate with local government and NGOs for future activities
Choosing Final Community

• Conduct informal interviews with community residents and key

informants.
• Determine the need of the program in the community.
• Take note of political development.
• Develop community profiles for secondary data.
• Develop survey tools.
• Pay courtesy call to community leaders.
• Choose foster families based on guidelines
Identifying Host Family

• House is strategically located in the community.

• Should not belong to the rich segment.
• Respected by both formal and informal leaders.
• Neighbors are not hesitant to enter the house.
• No member of the host family should be moving out in the
community
2. Entry Phase
• Sometimes called the social preparation phase.
• Is crucial in determining which strategies for organizing would suit the
chosen community.
• Success of the activities depend on how much the community
organizers has integrated with the community.
Guidelines for Entry

• Recognize the role of local authorities by paying them visits to inform

their presence and activities.
• Her appearance, speech, behavior and lifestyle should be in keeping
with those of the community residents without disregard of their
being role model.
• Avoid raising the consciousness of the community residents; adopt a
low-key profile
Activities in the Entry Phase
Integration
• Establishing rapport with the people in continuing effort to imbibe community life.
• Living with the community
• Seek out to converse with people where they usually congregate
• Lend a hand in household chores
• Avoid gambling and drinking
• Deepening social investigation/community study
• Verification and enrichment of data collected from initial survey.
• Conduct baseline survey by students, results relayed through community assembly
Core Group Formation

• Leader spotting through sociogram.

• Key Persons. Approached by most people.
• Opinion Leader. Approached by key persons.
• Isolates. Never or hardly consulted
3. Organization-building Phase
• Entails the formation of more formal structure and the inclusion of
more formal procedure of planning, implementing, and evaluating
community-wise activities. It is at this phase where the organized
leaders or groups are being given training (formal, informal, OJT) to
develop their style in managing their own concerns/programs
Key Activities

• Community Health Organization (CHO)

• Preparation of legal requirements
• Guidelines in the organization of the CHO by the core group●election
of officers
• Research Team Committee
• Planning Committee
• Health Committee Organization
• Others
• Formation of by-laws by the CHO
4. Sustenance and Strengthening
Phase
• Occurs when the community organization has already been
establishedand the community members are already actively
participating in community-wide undertakings. At this point, the
different committees setup in the organization-building phase are
already expected to be functioning by way of planning, implementing
and evaluating their ownprograms, with the overall guidance from the
community-wide organization.
Key Activities

• Training of CHO for monitoring and implementing of community

health program.
• Identification of secondary leaders.
• Linkaging and networking.
• Conduct of mobilization on health and development concerns.
• Implementation of livelihood projects
SITUATION
• Poro is a small rural village of 300 people. It has a big market which
used to attract people from all over the surrounding area.
Unfortunately the five kilometres of dirt road leading into Poro have
become very rough. Fewer people are coming now, so business at the
market is not good and the villagers are losing money. The road needs
repairing.The closest water source is a stream two kilometres away
which dries up at certain times of year. The main town of the district,
about ten kilometres away, has a piped water supply. The residents of
Poro feel that they deserve the same
• The nearest school to Poro is in another village reached by a path
through the forest. Children using the path have been bitten by
snakes and injured through tripping over fallen trees. People in Poro
want their own school.The nearest health centre is in the main town.
This is far to travel for a sick person, and the health workers who
promise to visit Poro never come. The villagers want a health centre
too.
• Finally, because the main town of the district has electricity, people
feel that Poro should have electricity too. This would help their
children study and make life at nightmore interesting