This study was conducted according to the guidelines suggested by the PRISMA group. Nonetheless, we restricted our search strategy to community health promotion because of the absence of concept analysis of outreach in this particular context. Walker and Avant’s method suggests that an unbiased understanding of a concept should not be limited to nursing or medical literature. We focused on literature on the promotion of community health. Although theory can differ from context, the present study was conducted to form a generalized concept of outreach in the health community. Walker and Avant’s method is the appropriate application for the concept of outreach because this concept is obscure and has not been developed. Although there are many approaches for analyzing concepts, Walker and Avant’s (2010) method is often used by novices to conduct concept analyses because it has eight clear steps that derive from the process developed by Wilson. This study aimed to establish a clear-cut concept of community health outreach by analyzing the activities involved in health-related outreach projects performed in communities.Ĭoncept analysis is a formal, rigorous process by which an abstract concept is explored, clarified, validated, defined, and differentiated from similar concepts to inform theory development and enhance communication. Therefore, finding a general definition of outreach has proven challenging. Several factors influence the process: the outreach staff (“personal factors”), outreach procedures (“process factors”), and the community in which the outreach is taking place (“environment factors”). Researchers tend to focus on specific strategies or activities that provide health services as components of a community project thus, outreach strategies are strongly tied with the community involved. Indeed, the definition of community health outreach depends heavily on a health project’s goals and the community’s context. The concept of outreach is seemingly easy to understand, but it is not easy to define. However, even basic textbooks on social work rarely mention the definition of outreach, and then, it is not considered on its own terms it is occasionally presented as “detached,” “street-based,” or “preventive” work. Ĭommunity health outreach generally entails engaging in social work with vulnerable populations to address homelessness, drug abuse, mental disorders, youth problems, and prostitution. Such projects employ community health workers, who are familiar with the community, form multidisciplinary teams to encourage institutional cooperation within the community, or facilitate medical accessibility by approaching directly the individuals at risk. Several studies have reported on the effectiveness of community-based outreach projects in providing customized interventions. Typically, this population has been exposed to many health risk factors and has a higher prevalence of cancer and cardiovascular and sexually transmitted diseases compared with the general population. Community health outreach provides health-related services to community residents who are at a socioeconomic disadvantage. Tailored, multifaceted, community-based strategies are required. Health inequalities receive attention worldwide, but they remain a challenging problem among and within countries. This definition provides a general understanding of the outreach undertaken by health workers and enables the strong connection between health professionals and community residents. This study proposed the definition of community health outreach as a temporary, mobile project that involves the collaboration of a community to undertake its purposeful health intervention of reaching a population facing health risks. The consequences were increased accessibility and health promotion. The antecedents were population facing health risks and awareness of health risks. The defining attributes of the concept of community health outreach were purposive, temporary, mobile and collaboration with community. A total of 45 articles were included in the analysis after having searched for text on database portals like PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL complete and EMBASE published between 20. Walker and Avant’s (2010) method of concept analysis was used to understand community health outreach. Our study aimed to clarify the general definition of community health outreach to facilitate its understanding and use.

There is no consistency in the definitions attached to the concept itself. The definition of community health outreach to promote the health of vulnerable populations depends heavily on the particulars of the given health project and community.

Medical outreach