Community Participation and Establishing Partnerships in the Conduct of a Community-based Health Promotion Program in an Urban Apartment Complex in Seoul, Korea

This community-based participatory research describes the process of participation and partnership between the local health department, university and residents to develop a health promotion program in an apartment-setting in Seoul, Republic of Korea.

As of 2009, 20% of the all 254 Korean local municipalities have declared themselves as “Healthy Cities”, emphasizing the need for multi-sectoral partnerships and settings-based health promotion programs in schools, workplaces and hospitals. However, approaches in residential areas, such as apartment complexes, experience more difficulty in developing health intervention, especially in establishing partnerships and promoting community involvement.

Gangnam Health Center, acting as the local health department for one of the 25 districts of Seoul, called out to over 200 apartment complexes within their district authority, to participate in the “Healthy Apartment Program” An apartment complex of 738 households volunteered to join in the pilot project. Meanwhile, the research team at Korea University recruited undergraduate students majoring in public health to participate in the project during the winter vacation period. As a result of the established partnership, the initial phase of the intervention was successfully conducted, which is represented by the high response rate of the voluntary health survey, without any financial incentives provided to the respondents.

A description and analysis of how the partnership was shaped and participated, lessons learned, success factors and barriers evaluated throughout the subsequent processes will be presented.