Community Health

Phindile C. Phiri

Student Number: 44808526

Assignment Number: 01

Unique Number: 657794

Course Code: PYC 4811

Due date: 22 April

This essay will aim to critically compare and contrast community psychology and public health approaches to

social problems. This will be done by discussing the similarities and difference in the two approaches by

reviewing material and publications from different scholars.

Community Psychology was born out of traditional psychology that focused on one-on-one therapy covering

economic, environmental, political and social factors that influence the way in which people live their lives,

touching on social factors that contribute or cause problems in various societies. Their approach enlists the aid

of non-professional community members in order to distribute information and administer grass roots level

care within the community, by using community influencers, it lowers the workload for the professionals and

enables more of the community access to the health services they require,

Public Health, on the other hand, according to Leah Gilberts, in Sociology and the “New Public Health in South

Africa” is defined as being concerned with “preventing disease and distress” in the community as a whole, not

just the individual, before they occur; in its core promoting healthy living and the prevention of illness linked

with lifestyle, which now acknowledges the impact of the environment and the relationship the individual

experiences within it (L. Gilbert, 2012)

Community Psychology stemmed from the shortcomings of traditional psychology, and was born out of three

reforms known as Moral Treatment –therapeutic mental hospital, The Mental Hygiene and

Deinstitutionalisation -community health centres. Similarly Public Health approach was established in South

Africa throughout the past 150 years, and can be divided into four regimes namely was Sanitary science, Social

Medicine, Community Health and New Public Health according to...