The benefits of community participation in rural health service development: Where is the evidence?

The term ‘community participation’ is commonly understood as the collective involvement of local people in assessing their needs and organising strategies to meet those needs. The importance of community participation in rural health service development is uncontested. The rural health policy framework Healthy Horizons Outlook includes the principle, ‘participation by individuals, communities and special groups in determining their health priorities should be pursued as a basis for successful programs and services to maintain and improve their health’. The document also states that ‘social capability and the physical capacity to plan and implement local programs are required for communities to improve and maintain their health’