community pofiling

• Community Assessment Definition

  The process of collecting data (from primary and secondary sources) and information regarding demographics, health status, and the infrastructure of a defined community
• Community Assessment Guide categories

  • Community
  • Place
  • People
  • Function
  • Community Health
  • Status
  • Structure
  • Process
• Community/Place

  • Geopolitical boundaries of community
  • Local or folk name for community
  • Size in square miles/areas/blocks
  • Transportation avenues
  • Physical environment
• Community/People

  • Number and density of population
  • Demographic structure of populations
  • Informal groups
  • Formal groups
  • Linking structure
• Community/Function

  • Production-distribution –consumption of goods and services
  • Socialization of new members
  • Maintenance of social control
  • Adapting to ongoing and unexpected change
  • Provision of mutual aid
• Community Health/Status

  • Vital statistics
  • Fetal death, abortion, birth, death, marriage, divorce to calculate demographics e.g. fertility rate
  • Disease incidence and prevalence for leading cause of mortality and morbidity
  • Health risk profiles
  • Functional ability levels
• Community Health/Structure

  • Health Facilities
  • Health-related planning groups
  • Health manpower
  • Health resource utilization patterns
• Community Health/Process

  • Commitment
  • Self-other awareness and clarity of situational definitions
  • Effective communication
  • Conflict containment and accommodation
  • Participation
  • Management of relations with larger society
  • Machinery for facilitating participant interaction and decision making
• Another Category of Community Assessment

  • Health & social services
  • Communication
  • Economics
  • Recreation
  • Physical environment
  • Education
  • Safety and transportation
  • Politics & government
• Ten essential Services in Community Health Nursing Practice

  • Monitor health status to identify health problems
  • Diagnose and investigate health problems and health hazards in the community
  • Inform, educate and empower people about health issues
  • Mobilize community partnerships and actions to identify and solve health problems
  • Convening and facilitating community groups to promote health
  • Develop policies and plans that support individual and community health problems
  • Leadership and development
  • Enforce laws and regulations that protect and ensure safety
  • Link people to needed personal health services and ensure the provision of health care when otherwise unavailable
  • Ensure a competent public health and personal health care workforce
  • Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population-based health services
  • Research for new insights and innovative solutions to health problems
• Factors affecting the selection of community assessment

  • The purpose of assessment
  • Financial resources
  • Time limitations
  • Effort
  • Accuracy of required information
  • Feasibility of conducting the assessment
  • Acceptance of the defined community to assessment process
  • The expertise of the person conducting the assessment
• Purposes of community Assessment


  • To determine the health status of a community or a target group
  • Provide understanding about a problem and contributing factors
  • Reasons of premature death
  • Identify health related resources
  • Increase awareness of policy makers of both health and non health issues of concern to community members
• Data Collection Methods

  • Epidemiologic Approach
  • System Approach
  • Observational approach
  • Key informants Approach
  • Rates- under treatment approach
  • Community forum approach
  • Social indicators approach
  • Survey Approach
• Community Assessment information can be classified under three categories


  • information about community management
  • information about the population
  • information about health
• Information about community management


  • Internal and external policies
  • First step
• Information about the population

  • Geographical location
  • population
  • Density
  • environment
  • education
  • Social and economic level
• Information about the population

  • Culture and customs
  • communication
  • transportation
  • Safety hazards
  • Security and safety
• Information about the population

  • Recreation
  • General services
• Community Assessment Guide


  • Name of the Community
  • Location
  • History of the Community
  • Population
  • Environment
  • Housing
  • Services( electricity, water, security, drain)
• Community Assessment Guide

  • Economic and social status
  • Communication system
  • Education system
  • Governmental leadership
  • Transportation
  • Welfare agencies
  • Recreation
• Community Assessment Guide

  • Religious places
  • Health and health services
  • Available Health services
  • Quality of services
  • Chronic diseases
  • Most common diseases
  • Communicable diseases
  • Main cause of death (by age, sex, cause)
  • Any other problem
• Community Assessment Guide


  • List of health problems according to priorities
  • Plan of solving the health problems
• The Wealth of Nations was written in 1776