Community Assessment / Community Health Project

• Three phases of the planning process

  1. Preparatory Phase 
  2. Planning Phase
  3. Output
• Two objects of the planning process

  • Planning for the programs and services
  • Planning for projects
• One single output

  • A consolidated health program plan
• Community Assessment

  • A community assessment is an exercise by which a collaborative partnership gathers information on the current strengths, concerns, and conditions of children, families, and the community.
  • The information comes from many sources – especially parents and family members – and is elicited by many techniques, including interviews, focus groups, and scanning demographic data collected by local agencies.
• • Community assessment focus on local assets, resources and activities as well as gaps, barriers or emerging needs. The process of identifying and appraising this information will help your collaborative partnership.
• Program a series of coordinated related multiple projects that over extended time intended to achieve a goal.
• Program is comprised of multiple projects and is created to obtain broad organizational or technical objectives.
• Project has an established and specific objective. Has a defined life span with a beginning and an end.
• Project usually involves of several departments and professionals. Has specific time, cost and performance requirements.
• Needs Assessment

  • Clarifying need is an essential part of deciding what issue or problem the project will address. The term ‘needs assessment’ is used to describe a process of collecting information that will give a good indication of the priority needs of a community.
  • It provides an opportunity for the community to become involved in the planning from the beginning.
  • It helps with allocating resources and Making Decisions about where to start with health promotion work.
• Classifying Needs

  • When undertaking a needs assessment, it is important to consider that needs will be thought of differently, depending on whom you consult.
  • Needs are sometimes classified as
  • Normative needs
  • Felt needs
  • Expressed needs
  • Comparative needs
• Sharing information from the needs assessment

  • Sharing the results of the needs assessment with the community is a key part of the planning process. This process will:
  • Raise community awareness about the issues and possible underlying causes
  • Stimulate discussion about ways to address the issues
  • Allows the community to be involved in planning and decision-making about the project
• Consider baseline data

  • Some of the information gathered during the needs assessment may be able to be used as ‘baseline data’.
  • Baseline data describe the situation or condition at the time the project or intervention starts.
  • Data collected later during the evaluation is then compared against the baseline data to see the effect of the project.
• • Qualitative Method : Analysis of those who participated in the circumstances that surround the problem through focus group discussion (Participant’s Analysis) 
• • Quantitative Method : Construct a problem tree illustrating the direct and the underlying causes of the problem; Provide estimates (evidence-based) on the nature and extent of each cause through the use of indicators.
• Method to analyze causes

  • Ishikawa Diagram - Or fishbone diagram sorts possible causes into various categories that branch off from the original problem.
  • Vector Diagram
  • Cause and Effect tree
• Risk factors - are any aspect of behavior, society or the environment that are directly linked to the health problem. Risk factors lead to or directly cause the problem. Note that some risk factors can be charged, while others are not able to be modified, for example, family history of a condition.
• • Contributing factors are any aspects of behavior, society or the environment that leads to the risk factors developing.
  • Contributing factors enable or reinforce the risk factors. They can relate to individual, financial, political, educational, environmental, or other issues.
• Goal

  • The goal is about making changes to the risk factors addressed by project
  • The goal indicates what the planned, longer term outcome of the project is.
  • It is also intended to inspire, motivate and focus people and encourage team cooperation.
• Objectives

  • Objectives state what changes the project will make to the contributing factors.
  • The objectives indicate what the impact will be on the contributing factors during the time frame of the project.
  • The objectives are about what has to change in the short term to get closer to achieving the project goal.
• • A well written ‘goal and objectives’ state who will achieve how much of what by when. Developing a clear, achievable goal and objectives requires good baseline data.
• Step 1 : Identify the issues or health problems in the community. 

  Step 2 : Prioritize the issues or health problems.

  Step 3 : Identify risk factors and set the goal for the project.

  Step 4 : Determine contributing factors and state objectives for the project.
• Step 5 : Determine what strategies will be.

  Step 6 : Develop the action plan.

  Step 7 : Sustain the project.

  Step 8 : Evaluate the project.