Rethinking the Factors of Success: Social Support and Community Coalitions

Abstract

Background: Coalitions are often the strategy of choice when needs are great, resources are few, and individual efforts have proven unsuccessful in addressing serious health issues. Despite the widespread use of coalitions and extensive research, no definitive list of factors predicting coalition success has been identified. One factor, social support, has yet to be fully explored and may prove to be significant in achieving coalition success. Purpose: The purpose of this review is to describe the history of coalitions and the concept of social support, provide evidence that social support contributes to coalition success, and justify the need to further explore the role of social support in achieving coalition success. Methods: Several databases including Medline, CINHAL, and SOCindex were accessed. Keywords included but were not limited to coalitions, health promotion, health education, social support, and health. Results: The literature provides strong evidence that social support behaviors exist within health promotion coalitions and are associated with coalition success. Translation to Health Education Practice: Though achieving long-term health outcomes is viewed as the ultimate measure of coalition success, it is equally important to offer social support to encourage participation, develop solidarity, and foster trust among members. The findings of this study suggest that social support may be a critical key to achieving day-to-day and long-term success of coalitions.