According to World Health Organization, community empowerment is how the communi

According to World Health Organization, community empowerment is how the communities are able or empowered to gain control over factors and decisions in their lives. It is a process that leads the communities to be proactive and participate to take action and ownership in many aspects of the community, including social, political, and health promotion. Community empowerment encourages participation, discussion, and debate to increase awareness and knowledge, and this is a critical process that enables the community to take their actions. (World Health Organization)
Community empowerment involves community partnership which is the important key to promoting intervention and research within the communities. Several studies showed community empowerment has increased significantly over the last 30 years, especially in the communities with social problems, such as drug addiction, violence, poverty, and other health problems. Public health nurse plays a crucial role in community empowerment, as they are actively involved and partner with the communities in focusing on primary prevention and health promotion. In 2013, public health nurses helped an Irish Population Health interest group in a community empowerment process, by establishing coalitions between the community groups with healthcare professionals to solve issues in the communities, such as promoting an increase in breastfeeding for newborns. (Melo & Alves, 2019) Public health nurses can also promote community empowerment by increasing community awareness through forums and education, providing health screenings, educating people on diet or exercise, the importance of handwashing, and vaccinations.