[Durgical](https://durgical.com/en/) › [DurgiPedia](https://durgical.com/en/durgipedia/) › [Nursing](https://durgical.com/en/nursing/) › [Family and community nursing](https://durgical.com/en/nursing/areas/community/) › Community participation, coalitions, intersectoral action and healthy settings # Community participation, coalitions, intersectoral action and healthy settings - Safe practice Health improves faster when the community, other sectors and the health team work as partners in the places where people live, study and work. Updated Nov 13, 2026 ## Key points - Healthy settings (WHO): health is created in the places of daily life; principles are involvement, partnership, empowerment and equity. - Examples: healthy cities and municipalities, health-promoting schools, healthy workplaces, markets, homes and hospitals. - In Colombia, participation is a component of APS: communities take part in organising, overseeing and co-managing services. - Partnerships work better with a shared mission, diverse partners, trust built early, inclusive leadership and regular evaluation. - Common threats: partner turnover, unbalanced funding, vague roles and power imbalances. ## What it is Many causes of ill health lie outside health services, so nurses work with communities and other sectors. WHO's healthy settings approach, rooted in the 1986 Ottawa Charter, sees health as created in the places of daily life: cities and municipalities, schools, workplaces, markets, homes and hospitals; its principles are community involvement, partnership, empowerment and equity. In Colombia, social, community and citizen participation is one of the three components of APS (Law 1438 of 2011), and the basic health teams work with community leaders, networks and community devices such as listening centres. A coalition or partnership achieves more together than each partner alone, if it is built with care. ## What it requires - A shared mission aligned with each partner's own goals. - Diverse partners, including community organisations, and a balance of human and financial resources. - Leadership that inspires trust and includes everyone. - Clear roles, with a balance between formal and informal structures. ## How it is applied (and why) - Map the community's actors, networks and resources (eco-map, network directory) — you can only connect what you know exists. - Enter through community leaders and organisations — they open doors and lend trust. - Agree a shared mission that fits each partner's goals — partners stay when the mission is also theirs. - Invite diverse partners and balance resources — no single funder or sector should dominate. - Build trust from the start and keep it — trust is the base of every later agreement. - Define roles and a simple structure — vague roles lose the mission. - Check how partners perceive communication and adjust — silent partners drift away. - Keep the balance between administrative work and mission work — meetings should serve the goal. - Evaluate the partnership and share the results with the community — evaluation keeps it improving and accountable. ## In nursing practice - The community leader of the basic health team is the link with the community, helps prioritise and supports follow-up. - Community devices such as listening centres and guidance zones support mental health and substance-use prevention in the territory. - Community-based rehabilitation changes community conditions so people with disabilities can join existing activities and services. - MinSalud proposes community surveillance systems to monitor key actions as part of participation. ## Common mistakes - Calling a meeting where the community only listens. - Letting one funder or institution make every decision. - Starting many activities without an agreed mission. - Never evaluating the partnership or reporting back. ## Test yourself Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it. ## What are the core principles of WHO's healthy settings approach? Community involvement, partnership, empowerment and equity. ## Which APS component in Colombia's Law 1438 covers the community's role? Social, community and citizen participation, one of the three integrated components of APS. ## Which two factors help intersectoral partnerships for health promotion work? Any two of: a shared mission, diverse partners, inclusive leadership, trust built early, clear roles, good communication, attention to context and regular evaluation. ## What is community-based rehabilitation? An intersectoral strategy of social inclusion that changes community conditions so people with disabilities or mental health problems can join existing activities and services. [Add to my cards (4)](https://durgical.app/estudiar/?add=/en/nursing/community-participation-coalitions-intersectoral-action-and-healthy-settings/) ## Elsewhere in DurgiPedia - [Social determinants of health](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/social-determinants-of-health/) ## Connections ## Related 3 - [Community assessment and diagnosis: data, participation and priorities](https://durgical.com/en/nursing/community-assessment-and-diagnosis-data-participation-and-priorities/) - [Health promotion models in nursing: Pender, the health belief model and stages of change](https://durgical.com/en/nursing/health-promotion-models-in-nursing-pender-the-health-belief-model-and-stages-of/) - [Planning a community health programme: needs, priorities, objectives and the logic model](https://durgical.com/en/nursing/planning-a-community-health-programme-needs-priorities-objectives-and-the-logic/) [← All of nursing](https://durgical.com/en/nursing/) Educational content for students; it does not replace your institution's protocols, supervised clinical training or a prescriber's order. Dose-calculation examples use made-up numbers: they are educational, not a clinical order. Sources: [Healthy settings](https://www.who.int/teams/health-promotion/enhanced-wellbeing/healthy-settings) (World Health Organization, 2018); [What makes intersectoral partnerships for health promotion work? A review of the international literature (Corbin JH, Jones J, Barry MM)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5914378/) (Health Promotion International (PubMed Central), 2016); [Lineamientos para la organización y operación de los Equipos Básicos de Salud (Resolución 2788 de 2022): participación comunitaria, redes y capa comunitaria](https://www.minsalud.gov.co/sites/rid/Lists/BibliotecaDigital/RIDE/VS/PP/lineamientos-operacion-equipos-basicos-salud-resolucion-2788-2022.pdf) (Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social, Colombia, 2023); [Atención Primaria en Salud: componentes y atributos (presentación técnica, 12 de marzo de 2026)](https://www.minsalud.gov.co/sites/rid/Lists/BibliotecaDigital/RIDE/VS/PSA/atributos-aps-12032026.pdf) (Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social, Colombia, 2026). ## **Spotted a mistake?** We are always improving for the community. Tell us what is wrong and our team will review it. Report a mistake Representative model, for educational purposes only. --- Source: https://durgical.com/en/nursing/community-participation-coalitions-intersectoral-action-and-healthy-settings/ License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/nursing/community-participation-coalitions-intersectoral-action-and-healthy-settings/