Stanhope: Foundations of Nursing in the Community: Community-Oriented Practice, 3rd Edition

Community Assessment Applied with Answers The Community GENERAL ASSESSMENT INFORMATION Phase One: Defining the Community Clearly delineate the following dimensions before starting the process of community assessment: Who is the specific population that is being assessed? What is the role of this population within the community? What are the boundaries of this group? Does this community exist within a certain neighborhood? Are there geographic boundaries that separate this group from others? Is the community limited to a specific setting? Where is this group located? Why is a community assessment being performed? What purpose will it serve? When will the community assessment be conducted? Are there time limitations for completing the assessment? What resources are available to fund the community assessment? Phase Two: Assessment After the community has been defined, the next phase is assessment. On the following pages, several resources and methods are described that can be used for data gathering and data generation. This is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of resources and methods but rather a starting point for data collection and generation during your community assessment. Available monetary resources and the time frame for completion of the assessment may influence which methods are used. Nonetheless, these items should be reviewed to determine what information will be useful and should be collected about the community that is being assessed. It is not necessary to use all of these resources and methods; however, using a variety of methods is helpful when trying to discover the needs of a community. A. Data Gathering (collecting information that already exists) Demographics of the Community When demographic data are collected, it is useful to collect data from a variety of levels, so that comparisons can be made. If the population being assessed is located within a specific setting, it may be best to contact that agency to retrieve specific information about the population. The following resources provide a broad overview of the demographics of a city, county, or state:

American Fact FinderFind population, housing, economic, and geographic data for your city, based on U.S. Census data: http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en State and County Quick FactsEasy access to facts about people, business, and geography, based on U.S. Census data: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/ Epodunk: The Power of PlaceObtain information from the U.S. Census Bureaus 2000 Census about a specific city or county and links to other useful websites: www.epodunk.com U.S. Census Bureau: www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html

Information From Government Agencies Healthy People 2010This resource, published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, identifies health improvement goals and objectives for the country to be reached by the year 2010: www.healthypeople.gov/ National Center for Health StatisticsThis agency is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); this website provides statistical information about the health of Americans: www.cdc.gov/nchs/Default.htm Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)The CDC website contains a large amount of information related to the health of the American population. The search engine within this website can be used to find relevant information: www.cdc.gov Federal agencies with statistical programs: www.fedstats.gov/agencies Every state in the United States also has its own specific health improvement plan and goals that are based on the Healthy People 2010 document. This information may be available on the particular states health department website. State and local health departments also provide information related to vital statistics for the community. Other Data Sources Assess NowDeveloped through a joint project between the Washington State Department of Health and the University of Washington Northwest Center for Public Health Practice, this site contains links to a wide variety of Internet resources for all 50 states: www.assessnow.info/ Other relevant data sources may be found by conducting Internet searches related to the topic being examined through the community assessment. After data are collected from various sources, it is important to review the information and to identify assets and areas of needed improvement in the community by comparing local data (if available) against state and national data. This will facilitate organization of the information that has already been obtained and will provide direction for the next step of the process.

B. Data Generation (data are developed that do not already exist) Windshield Surveys With the use of public transportation or by driving a vehicle around the community, you can assess common characteristics of the community. Key observations to make during a windshield survey include the following: Age of the homes in the community Location of parks and other recreational areas Amount of space between homes and businesses Neighborhood hangouts Transportation in the community Quality of streets and sidewalks Types/numbers of stores and other businesses People out in the community Cleanliness of the community Billboards or other media displays Places of worship Participant Observation Spend time observing the population you are assessing. Through observation of interactions among group members, much can be learned about the community, including the following: Developmental level of the population Effectiveness of peer-to-peer interactions Effectiveness of peer-to-peer interactions Safety in the environment Informant Interviews Informants may be people who are familiar with and interact with the population on a regular basis. Examples of information you can obtain from key informants include the following: Strengths/assets of the community Areas of improvement for the community Concerns of community members Access to health care Focus Groups Use of focus groups (usually small groups of 6 to 12 people) can be helpful when you are gathering information about specific areas of concern within the population. Focus groups provide information through open dialogue about the population, whereas an interview or survey yields only individual responses. Using focus groups may be effective for assessing the following: Satisfaction with services provided Community resources used

Transportation issues within the community Safety within the community General concerns of population members

Surveys Surveys can be used to collect data from the community. Selecting a sample of the target population may prove helpful in the collection of data that are easier to analyze. It is important to ensure that the sample is representative of the target population. A survey should be developed that takes into consideration the developmental level of the group being assessed. Questions should be written at the appropriate developmental level, so they are answered in a way that makes the data useful. Surveys can include any of the following types of questions: closed-ended (yes/no), multiple choice (several responses to choose from), Likert scale (strongly agree/agree/neutral/disagree/strongly disagree), or open-ended (why/how).

Topics that may be addressed in a survey include the following: Demographic information Status of employment Safety within community Personal safety (seatbelts, helmets, etc.) Stressors/stress management patterns Risky behaviors Support systems Volunteer/community activities Hobbies Activity and rest patterns Nutrition Dental hygiene Health promotion activities

Secondary Analysis of Already Existing Documents After collected data have been analyzed, it may be helpful to go back and review the documents that were collected during the data-gathering phase or to find additional data that have already been collected by another source.

C. Data Interpretation After the data have been collected, it is important to analyze the information to identify any significant themes or trends. This can be done by organizing the information that has been collected during data gathering and data generation. Answering the following questions may assist in data interpretation: What similarities are apparent between the data that were gathered and the data that were generated? What differences are apparent between the data that were gathered and the data that were generated? What are the strengths of this community? In what areas is improvement needed in this community?