Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Community Participation in Road Safety: Barriers and Enablers

  • Published:
Journal of Community Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The objectives of the paper were to identify barriers to community participation in road safety activities and to recommend strategies to reduce those barriers. Information was obtained from: a review of relevant literature, from the authors' extensive community-based experiences, from undertaking community-based research, and from interviews with key stakeholders in road safety in Western Australia. Ten significant barriers to community participation were identified. These are classified into two groups: personnel and planning issues. The former includes: reasons why people are often reluctant to become involved in projects in their communities, a lack of leadership, and a lack of skills. The latter includes: inappropriate program foci, inappropriate program evaluation, lack of resources, and a lack of sustainability. It was concluded that the barriers to community involvement in road safety initiatives are similar in many parts of Australia and overseas and apply to a wide range of health promotion interventions besides road safety. Awareness of the barriers and knowledge of their solutions can ensure that appropriate steps are taken to maximise the likelihood of community participation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  1. Murray C, Lopez A (eds). The Global Burden of Disease: a Comprehensive Assessment of Mortality and Disability from Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors in 1990 and Projected to 2020. Boston: Harvard University Press, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Power G. Let the people lead: lessons learned in African cities. J World Vision Partnership, October-December 1997; 20-24.

  3. Rothman J, Tropman J. Models of community organisation and macro practice: their mixing and phasing. In FM Cox, JL Erlich, J Rothman and JE Tropman (Eds). Strategies of Community Organisation, 4th ed. Itasca, Illinois: Peacock, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Stockols D. Translating social ecological theory into guidelines for community health promotion. Am J Health Promot 1996; 10: 247-51.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Federal Office of Road Safety. Safer Roads for Your Community. Canberra: Federal Office of Road Safety, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Centre. You Can Do it-a Community Guide for Injury Prevention. Seattle: Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Centre, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Office of Road Safety. The Way Ahead: Road Safety: Directions for Western Australia. Perth: Government of Western Australia, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  8. ARRB Transport Research. An Evaluation of RoadWise: The Local Government Road Safety Strategy. Perth: ARRB, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Howat P, O'Connor J, Slinger S. Citizen action groups and health policy. Health Promot J of Aust 1992; 2: 16-22.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Casswell S, Gilmore L. An evaluated community action project on alcohol. J Stud Alc 1989; 50: 339-346.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Hingson R, McGovern T, Howland J, Heeren T, Winter M, Zakocs R. Reducing alcohol impaired driving in Massachusetts: the Savings Lives Program. Am J Public Health 1996; 86: 791-797.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Holder H. Can local action on alcohol reduce harm? Results of the community trial project in the United States. In T Stockwell (Ed) Drug Trials and Tribulations: Lessons for Australian Drug Policy. Perth: Curtin University, 1998, pp. 15-35.

    Google Scholar 

  13. World Health Organisation. Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. Geneva: WHO, 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  14. World Health Organisation. The Jakarta Declaration on health promotion in the 21st Century. Geneva: WHO, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  15. World Health Organisation. New Approaches to Improve Road Safety. Technical Report Series 781, Geneva: WHO, 1989.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Duhl, L. Health reform and community development and the healthy communities movement. Paper presented at the Fourth International Conference on Safe Communities, Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, 5-8 June 1995.

  17. Sundsrom L, Svanstrom L. How to develop safe communities. Paper presented at the Fourth International Conference on Safe Communities, Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, 5-8 June 1995.

  18. Butler P, Cass S (Eds). Case Studies of Community Development in Health. Melbourne: Centre for Development and Innovation in Health, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Cross D, Stevenson M, Howat P, Hall M, Officer J. The Child Pedestrian injury Prevention Project Final Report to The Western Australian Health Promotion Foundation. Perth, WA: Curtin University Printing Service, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Butterfoss F, Goodman R, Wandersman A. Community coalitions for prevention and health promotion: factors predictingsatisfaction, participation and planning. Health Educ Q 1996; 23: 65-79.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Goodman R, Steckler A, Hoover S, Schwartz A. A critique of contemporary community health promotion approaches: based on a qualitative review of six programs in Maine. Am J Health Promot 1993; 12:213-226.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Mayer J, Soweid R, Dabney S, Brownson C, Goodman R, Brownson R. Practices of successful community coalitions: a multiple case study. Am J Health Behav 1998. 22:368-377.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Schwab M, Syme S. On paradigms, community participation and the future of public health. Am J Public Health 1997; 12:2049-2051.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Sutherland M, Cowart M, Harris G. Jackson County partnership: developingan effective coalition. Int Q Community Health Educ 1998; 17:405-415.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Levi M. Social and unsocial capital: A review of Robert Putman's 'MakingDemocracy work.' Politics and Society 1996; 24: 45-55.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Putman R. Bowlingalone: America's decliningsocial capital. J Democracy 1995; 6: 65-78.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Dillon J, Howat P. The challenge of evaluating community interventions for traffic safety: utilising social capital dimensions. Paper presented at the Fourth World Conference, Injury Prevention and Control, Amsterdam, 17-20 May 1998.

  28. Fukuyama F. Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Lomas J. Social capital and health: Implications for public health and epidemiology. Soc Sci Med 1998; 47: 1181-1998.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Kawachi I Kennedy B. Health and social cohesion: why care about income inequality? BMJ 1997; 314: 1037-1040.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Bjaras G. The need of leadership for motivation of participants in a community intervention program. Scand J Soc Med 1991; 19: 190-198.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Eisen A. Survey of neighbourhood-based, comprehensive community empowerment initiatives. Health Educ Q 1994; 21: 235-252.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Howat P. Healthy cities-the answer for health promotion? Health Promot J Aust 1995; 5: 58.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Howat P, Jones S, Hall M, Cross D, Stevenson M. Adaptation of the PROCEED-PRECEDE framework for planninga child pedestrian injury prevention program. Injury Prev 1997; 3:282-287.

    Google Scholar 

  35. Frankish J, George A, Daniel M, Doyle-Waters M. Participatory Health Promotion Research in Canada: a Community Guidebook. Vancouver: University of British Columbia, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Health Promotion Research, School of Public Health, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, Western Australia, 6845

    Peter Howat

  2. Centre for Health Promotion Research, Australia

    Donna Cross

  3. School of Public Health, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia

    Marg Hall, Helena Iredell, Mark Stevenson, Susie Gibbs, Jill Officer & Janice Dillon

Authors
  1. Peter Howat
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Donna Cross
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Marg Hall
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Helena Iredell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Mark Stevenson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Susie Gibbs
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Jill Officer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Janice Dillon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter Howat.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Howat, P., Cross, D., Hall, M. et al. Community Participation in Road Safety: Barriers and Enablers. Journal of Community Health 26, 257–270 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010304511244

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010304511244

Search

Navigation