Fluent Essays

Using the problem-solving methodology, you will critique the following article (ATTACHED) displayed below.  Benefits and Challenges of Generating Community Participation Part 1: a) Assess the critical health issue found in the article. b) Discuss the population most affected. c) Indicate the root cause of the health problem. d) Indicate if there was a possible solution to the problem(s). e) List the outcomes from the researcher’s solution in the article. Part 2: a) Propose an alternative program you feel would be more affective. Provide data to support why you are suggesting this option. Your paper should be at least two pages in length. Adhere to APA Style when constructing this critique, including in-text citations and references for all sources that are used. Please note that no abstract is needed.Benefits and Challenges of Generating Community Participation Leonard A. Jason DePaul University This article conveys important and useful information that practitioners can apply in their day-to-day professional lives by including citizen– consumer– client participation in their work. Three collaborative action projects are described that yielded significant benefits both for local communities and broader policy. These interventions, which were on topics as diverse as tobacco use among youth, recidivism among substance abusers, and chronic fatigue syndrome, were greatly enhanced by the involvement of citizens. The case studies are presented in such a way that the reader has a sense of how, when, and in what ways the interventions were collaborative as well as what the outcomes have been vis-à-vis public policy. The article is intended to encourage professional psychologists to collaborate more fully with community groups in efforts to expand and improve behavioral health services and policies. Keywords: citizen participation, public policy, collaboration, community psychology You might ask why practitioners would be interested in activity involving community members in their work. With busy practices, multiple obligations, and an increasingly hectic work world, add- ing another set of responsibilities might seem to be burdensome and even counterproductive. Yet, it is very possible that our work could be immeasurably enriched by obtaining greater involvement from citizens– consumers– clients. In fact, such work might even make for more relevant assessments and interventions as well as better relationships and cooperation with community partners and local organizations. These types of rich collaborative efforts could even help bring added attention, publicity, and even public policy benefits. In fact, whether you are implementing individual-level interventions at the local level or larger-scale public health projects at the community or state level, you probably are going to be involved in making some decisions regarding behavioral health policies. In this article, some of the benefits and challenges of mobilizing citizen participation will be reviewed. Clearly, these collaborations have important implications for practitioners. For example, it is possible that bringing community members into our work might help us better prioritize the needs and interests of our clients and participants (Chataway, 2001). In addition, a relationship based on meaningful citizen involvement may be a critical factor for the sustainability of community efforts (Altman, 1995). In a sense, there are multiple worthy rationales for citizen participation, in- cluding its potential in sensitizing, prioritizing, and sustaining intervention and research efforts, and these collaborative efforts might also ultimately help us even influence public policy. But before dealing with these very practical matters, let me first de- scribe some basic terms that involve the collab