Conduct a Needs Assessment
Conducting a community health needs assessment can help rural programs determine where and how to use limited resources to address health-related needs.
A community health needs assessment serves as the starting point to address a rural community’s needs. The assessment identifies and measures factors that impact health, such as gaps in services, as well as assets and strengths available to help resolve these issues. This assessment will help to identify topics and issues relevant to a community.
Data for determining community needs can be collected through surveys, questionnaires, focus groups, public meetings, direct observations, and interviews. Secondary data sources such as demographic data, vital statistics, hospital records, morbidity and mortality reports, and literature reviews also provide valuable information.
Community health needs assessment data can be collected from a variety of sources.
| Source | Type |
|---|---|
| Chamber of Commerce |
List of businesses
Employment/Unemployment rates Area economic data |
| Civic organizations |
Sources of involved community members Lists of charitable projects |
| Community college/local university |
Enrollment/graduation numbers Fields of study available to students Academic research about the community |
| Employment Security Commission | Employment/Unemployment rates |
| Faith-based groups |
Membership numbers Lists of members and community needs |
| Health Department |
Immunization rates Disease rates |
| Hospitals and healthcare providers |
Emergency room visits Chronic disease prevalence |
| Large employers |
Products made Economic impact to the community |
| Law enforcement agencies |
Crime incidence Arrests/convictions numbers Incidence of domestic violence Motor vehicle crash information |
| Library | Local history/Information unique to the county |
| Non-profit organizations |
Types of services performed Number of people eligible for service Number of people served Plans for the future |
| Public School System |
Enrollment numbers Graduation/drop-out rates Test scores |
Source: Community Health Assessment Guide Book, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Division of Public Health, June 2014
It is important to talk to members of the community to understand the data. For example, data gathered across several years may show that there has been a notable change related to health outcomes, educational attainment, or employment. Conducting a focus group with community partners or community members can help to explain the reasons for why the changes have occurred. Combining quantitative and qualitative data can help to explain community trends.
For more information on how to conduct a needs assessment, see Conducting Rural Health Research, Needs Assessment, and Program Evaluation.
Resources to Learn More
A
Handbook for Participatory Community Assessments: Experiences from Alameda County
Document
This handbook describes the process the Alameda County Health Department (California) took to conduct community
assessments with the active participation of two neighborhood groups. It includes information about how to
develop partners, choose data collection methods, collect the data, and share results.
Organization(s): Alameda County Public Health Department
Date: 2004
The
Community
Tool Box: Chapter 3 – Assessing Community Needs and Resources
Website
This chapter of the Community Tool Box contains 24 sections, covering topics such as different methods for
collecting information and how to use the data collected to identify community needs and resources.
Organization(s): University of Kansas Work Group for Community Health and
Development
Conducting
a Community Health Assessment
Website
This website provides access to tools for identifying and selecting indicators for the community health
assessment, data collection, analysis, examples, and presenting findings.
Organization(s): National Association of County & City Health Officials
County Health Rankings and Roadmaps
Website
The County Health Rankings measure the health of nearly all counties in the U.S. and ranks them within
their states. This tool can be used to better understand the health of a community in comparison to other
communities. The rankings are calculated using a variety of county-level measures collected from national and
state data sources.
Organization(s): Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
HealthData.gov
Website
Warehouse of searchable databases that provide various health data.
Organization(s): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services