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Evidence-Based Public Health: A Course in Chronic Disease Prevention MODULE 2: Community Assessment Darcy Scharff March 2013. Learning Objectives:. 1. Understand importance of conducting a community assessment.
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Evidence-Based Public Health: A Course in Chronic Disease Prevention MODULE 2: Community Assessment Darcy ScharffMarch 2013
Learning Objectives: 1. Understand importance of conducting a community assessment. 2. Understand the types of data that are appropriate for assessing the needs and assets of the population/community of interest.
Discontinue Disseminate widely Retool
What is a community assessment? “A balance of studies and stories” Hancock and Minkler, 1997
Why? • Provide insight into the community context • Ensures that interventions will be designed, planned, and carried out in a way that maximizes benefit to the community • Make decisions about where to focus resources and interventions • Ensure that all members of the partnership have a common understanding of the issues
Why? • Influence others in the community and command support and resources for your efforts • Understand the kinds of things you want to track along the way in order to determine how your efforts are contributing to change.
How does it inform us? Tells us: • The main health concerns in the community • The main reasons for these health concerns • The strengths/assets in the community • Where we might want to intervene to create change
Ecological framework • Individual – knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, skills • Social – family, friends (social support and social networks) • Governmental & Organizational policies • Environmental – access to infrastructures & resources
Local Health Center • Hired a consultant to help them determine their focus areas moving forward. In particular they wanted to know the health needs of homeless St. Louis residents. • The only data available as public use data was from the BRFSS, hospital records, MICA information • The Health Center said this data was not helpful. What might be some of their concerns? • Do these tell us about individual, social, or gov’t/organizational, environmental factors influencing health?
Decide what you need to know See handout
Review existing data • Morbidity/mortality • Behavior • Social indicator – particularly important as we move toward environmental and policy changes • More on this in Quantifying the Issue
Collect new data • Survey – behavioral, organizational, partnership • Record review – hospital records, housing records, community agencies, policies and their enforcement • Observations • Community audits • Photovoice or photography • Qualitative interviews (covered in Evaluation section)
Class Exercise Please take a few moments to observe what is around you…and write down what you observe
Photography and video clips • Take photographs or video clips of things in the community that influence physical activity • Can be done by researchers and community members
Community Audits A tool to assist in documenting observations • Type of food, quality of food, placement of food • Grocery store • Restaurant • Social & physical structures supporting physical activity • Sidewalks, trails, lighting, scenery, safety • People walking, talking, fighting, gang and drug related activity
Observations • Level of detail • Duration of observation • People versus surrounding; behaviors versus environment • Race/class/ethnicity • Assumptions - family, friends, husband/wife • Observations vs. interpretations • Senses - sight, sound, smell, touch • Awareness of our own biases and tendencies • Did you tell people you were observing them? • Did you participate?
Community Assessment • Decide what to assess • Decide the best method to collect the data to answer your questions • Develop a work plan that identifies tasks to accomplish, partner roles and responsibilities, and a time frame for completion • Organize information as it is collected so that it can be shared with all partners, community stakeholders, and community members.
Community Assessment • Present information gathered and summarized from the community assessment back to partners • Coalition/partnership • Community forum • Meetings with community groups • Move to Action Planning – what do we do to create the desired changes?
The Planning Cycle Assessment Planning Evaluation Implementation