Community health development on a Bristol housing estate: A review of a local project ten years on

Abstract

This article reflects on ten years of a community health project - the Hartcliffe Health and Environment Action Group - on a housing estate in south Bristol, an area of high health need. We look at trends in health indicators over the ten years; data problems mean that only tentative conclusions can be drawn, but these are useful for understanding the social and health context of the work. We identify key factors which contribute to the success of the Group, and problems and tensions we experience. We discuss what has been achieved and the effect on the local community, concluding that we can assess effect in terms of activities and short term outputs but not in terms of quantifiable health outcomes. Our conclusions are that community health development projects such as this one can make a contribution to the wider agenda of reducing health inequalities and social exclusion, provided that key principles of community development are adhered to, and that there is basic core funding and stability.