Community Health Volunteer's Training Manual - Population Council

Unit 5
Conflict Prevention, Management and
Resolution
Introduction
Conflict Prernclonnt MnMarernctMnnt reoolclon
There are no two people who are alike in this world. Because we all think differently there are
bound to be misunderstandings and disagreements. As volunteers who have to work with
different groups of people, we need to understand what brings about conflicts and how to
resolve them. More importantly how do we prevent and manage conflict situations such that
our community health work can go on smoothly? What can we do as volunteers to prevent
and manage conflict situations? And when we have a conflict ourselves how do we go about
controlling it? These will be the highlights of Module 1 Unit 5.
Figure 1.5.1: A round conference at a community durbar keeps conflicts at bay
Unit Objectives Unit topics
By the end of this Unit participants will be able to:
1. Define the term conflict
2. Identify the sources and causes of conflicts
4. Discuss ways of preventing, resolving and
managing conflicts
5. Discuss the volunteer’s role in managing conflicts
1. Definition of conflict
2. Sources and causes of conflicts
3. Preventing, resolving and managing conflicts
4. Volunteers’ role in managing conflicts
5. Managing conflicts among community volunteers
Key words and phrases:
conflict, individual differences, anecdotal evidence, status quo, disgruntled, deviant behaviour, integral part,
tainted, hurled, provocation
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