A Sense of Community, a Shared Vision and a Positive Culture: Core Enabling Factors in Successful Culture Based Health Promotion

Three enabling factors -a shared vision, a positive culture and a sense of community -which have been found to account for much of the vitality generated through successful culture change efforts are discussed.

Abstract

Judd Allen, Ph.D., is Vice President of the Human Resources Institute, Morristown, New Jersey, Clinical Instructor at Cornell University Medical College, and Senior Research Analyst of the Division of Cancer Control, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York. As has been pointed out in previous reviews of culture change approaches, such programs require the continuing commitment of a significant number of organizational members.’4 Systematic culture change is more than periodic random offerings such as a health hazard appraisal, a workshop, a packaged sen~inar, or a promotional flier. Culture change requires a comprehensive systematized and continuing revision of cultural influence mechanisms such as rewards, social recognition, training, orientation, communication, and information systems. Key factors have been found to be highly important in bringing about and sustaining revisions in these mechanisms and systems and in order to modify health cultures and health behaviors related to them. This article discusses three enabling factors -a shared vision, a positive culture and a sense of community -which have been found to account for much of the vitality generated through successful culture change efforts.