The context for community participation in health action in Australia

Community participation is one of the underlying principles of democratic s ocieties and the potential benefits of the participation process are well d ocumented. Although a number of participatory mechanisms have been establis hed by government departments and community agencies to facilitate communit y participation in health, few Australians regularly or actively participat e. This paper examines the context for participation in health action in Au stralia including a political culture which serves to discourage participat ion in health, and many other areas, and barriers to participation associat ed with the complex structure and financing of the health care system.