Chapter 2, 3, and 4 - Conducting A Community Needs Assessment

Question 1

A need means something that specifically relates to a particular group or community

Answer 1

what is a need?

Question 2

• A community needs assessment is a common procedure that can help you better understand the issues faced by your community
• it is the process of identifying, analyzing and prioritizing needs of a priority population
• Involves collecting data from community members to understand their health problems or concern
• The results of a needs assessment guide future action

Answer 2

What is a community needs assessment?

Question 3

Analyzing the problem
5 key questions:
1. what is the problem?
2. who or what is causing it?
3. When did it first occur or become significant?
4. what is currently being done to resolve identified needs?
5. Can the problem be solved in a reasonable amount of time?

Answer 3

Step 1 of community needs assessment

Question 4

Define Objectives

Answer 4

Step 2a of community needs assessment

Question 5

Clearly define behavior

Answer 5

Step 2b of community needs assessment

Question 6

formulate needs assessment questions

Answer 6

Step 3 of community needs assessment

Question 7

Gathering data for community needs assessment

Answer 7

Step 4 of community needs assessment

Question 8

• makes use of what already is available
• can be gathered and analyzed relatively quickly
• easy to chart changes of issues over time

Answer 8

existing data advantages

Question 9

• indicators are often indirect (not what you are searching for directly)
• Available information may be educated
• typically quantitative results from surveys

Answer 9

existing data disadvantage

Question 10

• Primary, current data collected from your specific community and target audience
• can tailor data collection methods and measurements to what you want to learn from your assessment

Answer 10

Collecting New data advantages

Question 11

1. what will change?
2. Who will experience the change?
3. How much will they change?
4. By when?

Answer 11

SMART 4 key questions to ask?

Question 12

S stands for

Answer 12

specific - well-defined

Question 13

M stands for

Answer 13

Measurable - Know if the goal is obtainable and how far away completion is

Question 14

A stands for

Answer 14

Achievable - Agreement with stakeholders regarding what the goals should be

Question 15

R stands for

Answer 15

Realistic - Within the availability of resources, knowledge and time

Question 16

T stands for

Answer 16

Time-bound - allows enough time to achieve the goal

Question 17

• needs high budgetary and staff resources
• requires knowledge of data collection methods and experience collecting and analyzing data

Answer 17

Collecting New data disadvantages

Question 18

1. quick and inexpensive
2. questionnaires are usually easy to prepare
3. contact in the information gathering process may help legitimize interventions for later implementation

Answer 18

Surveys advantages

Question 19

1. information from convenience studies may be biased - age, occupation, education, income
2. information from “providers” of services as opposed to “customer” of services may not be accurate
3. number of informants surveyed may be too small to generalize findings to total community

Answer 19

Survey disadvantages

Question 20

1. relatively easy to undertake
2. results can be obtained in a short period of time
3. social interaction in the group produces freer and more complex responses
4. the researcher can have face validity due to the clarity of the context and detail of the discussion

Answer 20

focus groups advantage

Question 21

1. requires highly skilled moderator
2. groups are often are difficult to assemble
3. individual responses are not independent of one another
4. because the group is hand-selected, the results may not be representative of the general population- useful for gaining insight and context into a topic
   - allows respondents to describe what is important to them
   - useful for gathering quotes and stories
   - useful for when it’s difficult to bring a group together
   - some topics that are too personal for focus groups work well one-one-one

Answer 21

Focus Group Disadvantages

Question 22

• useful for gaining insight and context into a topic
• allows respondents to describe what is important to them
• useful for gathering quotes and stories
• useful for when it’s difficult to bring a group together
• some topics that are too personal for focus groups work well one-one-one

Answer 22

interviews advantages

Question 23

• sometimes hard to find diversity of opinions and perspectives
• can be more time consuming in implementation
• requires a skilled interviewer

Answer 23

Interviews disadvantages

Question 24

1. inexpensive and easy
2. input comes from a wide range of people
3. May have good public relations as well as planning benefits

Answer 24

community forum advantages

Question 25

1. those who attend may not be representative of total community but may represent special interest groups
2. participants may try to use the forum as a gripe session
3. public meeting may heighten expectations beyond what the program may reasonably expect to deliver

Answer 25

community forums disadvantages