Consulting the Community on Strategies to Strengthen Social Capital for Community Disease Control

Abstract

Excluding communities in planning and implementing research maximizes internal risks that are otherwise visible and avoidable when there is adequate community consultation. Communities might not meaningfully use research results if majority of the researched people have minimal or no participation in information generation and dissemination. However, effective participation of researched communities in research is key to transferring knowledge to action. Using a qualitative approach, the study identified barriers to, and relevant strategies for improving health research uptake, particularly for schistosomiasis (commonly known as bilharzia) in the Ingwavuma area, uMkhanyakude District of KwaZulu-Natal. Data was collected through modified ethnography using participant observation, focus group discussions, unstructured in-depth interviews, and ethnographic conversational interviews. Results reveal that research uptake is inhibited by reduced opportunities for habitual interaction between residents, a paucity of innovative and inclusive health education activities and unsafe recreational facilities. The community’s strategies on strengthening social capital for disease control include using existing social systems and power hierarchies to mobilise and organise and using the performing arts to facilitate habitual interaction and knowledge sharing. The study recommends a community consultation flow which facilitates openness about the benefits and the community’s role in research, a pre-condition for community wide efforts in local disease prevention and control.