Community Needs Assessment - Literature review Example

Running Head: COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT Topic: Community Needs Assessment Lecturer: Presentation: Introduction Community health nurses frequently undertake a community needs assessment (CNA) to assist in identifying factors which can have both a positive and negative impact on people’s health outcomes. With this information they are able to develop strategies and programs to address identified needs. The data obtained through the CNA are the key component for a successful outcome, so multiple methods of obtaining different types of relevant information are used. A number of different CNA models exist, however the principles on which they are based are consistent, even if identified differently. This literature review explores the meaning of community needs assessment and the different types of needs. It also highlights the data that is sought in CNA and the reasons behind seeking such information. The methods of data collection have been discussed, as well as the principles that underpin the steps involved in the process undertaking a CNA. Community Need Assessment Community needs assessment is an important strategy that aims at collecting data regarding a community’s requirements, views, and challenges as well as resources that can be applied to establish the actual needs of the community (Stevens et al. 2006). It is a way of identifying the strengths and assets available in the community that can facilitate satisfaction of the needs of all members of the society, whether young or old; working or jobless; able or disabled and any other aspects of diversity in the society. Acosta and Toro (2000) observe that community needs assessment concentrates on the community’s potential all citizens included, groups as well as organizations. It forms the basis for establishing and classifying services and justification as well as establishing a society that upholds and nurtures children and families. Stakeholders in the community such as NGOs, volunteers and any other parties affected by community affairs are involved in the process of community needs assessment. The process enables planners to determine the manner in which a community is currently accomplishing its needs as well as its potential to provide capital and services in future (Alpi, 2005). Types of Need There are various needs that the community needs assessment tries to establish. These include; the ability to meet the required standards of living. The employment rates within a particular community are an indicator of the people’s capacity to pay the cost of necessities in their day to day lives. Poverty is mainly a consequence of unemployment in the community. Employment is among the community needs that determine whether people will have access to other necessities. For example, housing needs largely depend on people’s earnings. Charles & Henner (2004) observe that the more the people in stable employment in the society, the higher their capability to pay for proper housing. Informal settlements are common in communities where employment rates are low. This also affects health since such settlements usually lack the basic infrastructure and facilities such as sanitary facilities, roads and hospitals. The environment around the informal settlements is usually under intense pollution and poses health hazards to the community. Satisfaction of the community’s health needs is dependent on the satisfaction of other needs such as proper nutrition, shelter, and clothing; hence when these needs are not accomplished, people are exposed to poor health (Forsetlund and Bjorndal, 2001). Also among the needs that have to be identified is the success rate of community services as well as the improvements that can be made to reveal the community needs. The government and stakeholders in community service delivery may have concerted efforts in ensuring that people have access to basic human needs and that people’s standards of living are improved. However, some of the interventions may not accomplish their objectives if proper strategies that are community centered are not developed. Community needs assessment may assist in establishing the whether the involvement of stakeholders is successful and whether they address the actual needs of the community (Stevens et al. 2006). The call for improvement is also addressed through evaluating success in service delivery, which justifies the need for assessment of accomplishments by government and other agencies working in the community (Stevens et al. 2006). For example, it might be perceptible that the community’s health needs have been addressed by the establishment of a public healthcare facility. However, this might not be sufficient to deal with healthcare issues. The actual needs may be within the community, such as education on sanitation to prevent the occurrence of ailments. In other words, it is important to visualize community needs in various perspectives to help in addressing the health issues comprehensively (Scriven and Garman, 2005). There are needs that arise as a result of the changing nature of the community. Demographics are in continuous change and the population is likely to increase with improved living standards. The community service providers have to understand that the services provided in earlier years have to be increased to ensure that the entire population is satisfied. Even positive changes should be addressed. For example, socio-economic status changes as people learn better ways of life. Under such circumstances, people’s standards of living improve and they no longer lack the basic human needs. They may require better road network to enhance ownership of cars, electrification to enhance mechanization of processes, communication network, institutions of higher learning among other aspects of improved livelihoods (Kaufman, 2006). These are needs that may not be easily identified by the government and agencies since most of them focus on provision of basic needs. In other words, the changes occurring within the community must be put in to consideration to avoid redundancy in service provision; hence the necessity of community needs assessment (Stevens et al. 2006). What data is sought and why Data on historical development is sought in community needs assessment to assist in understanding the manner in which the community was initiated and the occurrences that have led it to the current situation. This understanding is important in providing an insight regarding the nature of assets to focus on and the resources required for improvements. The information may also be important in helping the researcher to understand the hindrances experienced by the community and the strategies that can assist in overcoming barriers to community development (Basler, 2005). Data on the community’s geographical distribution and accessibility is important in determining the growth patterns and strategic points where people can be found conveniently. It helps in planning to avoid haphazard arrangements that may affect the delivery of services. In other words, interventions are organized according to population densities and distribution when these parameters are known (Kaufman, 2006). Data on political and legal groups are important in developing strategies for population based selection. It is important to understand the representation of people in political and legal matters, which largely affect the accomplishment of community service provision. In essence, politicians in every community influence the delivery of public services and infrastructure. The regions that are not adequately represented tend to be under-developed and therefore such information may be useful in community needs assessment (Scriven & Garman, 2005). Demographic data is important in understanding population diversity and the changes occurring over time, which provides information regarding the future expectations. Age characteristics help in determining the nature of the population, and people can easily be classified in to groups depending on age. It becomes easy to identify the population of youth, the elderly and children, all ages with particular needs (Kaufman, 2006). Diversity of the population in terms of race, gender, physical and mental well-being as well as population transience can be known. Such data is important in developing strategies to address the diverse needs of the population rather than applying equal treatment for all people, which may not be appropriate for part of the population (Basler, 2005). Economic data is also collected to assist in the identification of the community’s economic status. This is important in establishing the needs that the community can cater for on their own and whether the interventions will be partial or full. The extremely badly off are not given the same treatment with the average population in terms of economic welfare. Data on social, cultural, learning and entertainment organizations is significant in determining the population’s values and social relations. Such data is necessary in planning for interventions to promote ownership of the objectives by the community (Kaufman, 2006). Unless the values of the community are known, projects can not be imposed on them. For example, in spite of the fact that every member of the society requires good shelter and healthcare facilities, it might be impossible for permanent facilities to be established for the pastoralist communities who have no permanent residents. Even if a hospital is built in their neighborhood, they must leave when time comes for them to depart from their current settlement. They value their livestock more than permanent houses and state of the art facilities such as hospitals and schools. In essence, all projects should be community centered to ensure that they serve the needs of the population and also to match the social patterns (Gupta et al. 2007). How data is obtained After identifying the type of data that is needed, strategies for data collection need to be developed. Interviews can be significant in collecting information from key informers in the community. These are mainly the opinion leaders that possess wide knowledge in community matters. They usually hold their positions by virtue of their past involvements in steering community projects forward or representing the community in national matters. Some may be government officers who can provide reliable information regarding the community. Their opinion usually represents that of the entire community. However, there is a risk of obtaining subjective information from the leaders (Scriven & Garman, 2005). Open community forums give every community member an opportunity to raise his/her opinion. Specific needs can be identified from the various people who have them. The forums also help the community to understand the intended initiative, which promotes its implementation. Nevertheless, community forums involve a lot of planning and advertising (Lee and Collins, 2005). Information can also be obtained from public archives such as the demographic data from the national census surveys. Diverse information such as gender, age structure, socio-economic status and race can be acquired from records. Sample surveys can be conducted to collect information through questionnaires (Lee, et al. 2002). The method of data collection needs to be chosen according to the presumed response rates and the resources available to facilitate the survey. The principles that underpin the steps involved in the process undertaking a CNA Certain principles should be upheld in the process of community needs assessment. Respect for the values of the community should be maintained. This ensures that the needs assessment process is favourable in the community or else people may fail to provide the desired information. There should be a shared responsibility that enhances relationship with the community. In other words, the community should be made to feel as part of the process with effective coordination linking the data collectors to the people (Adily and Ward, 2004). Effective communication can enhance the collection of information from the respondents. If they do not understand the intentions of the interviewer, their perception may be unfavourable and they may end up failing to provide accurate data. The process should indicate respect for diversity through equal representation of all members of the community in the questions intended to be asked to the respondents. It may seem unfair to the respondent when the needs assessment is targeted to the entire community, yet the questions asked only focus on a particular group in the society. For example, the respondent may ask, “why are you not asking about the views of the albinos?” In other words, gender, race, age and disability among other differences should be integrated in the CAN process (Basler, 2005). Conclusion Community needs assessment is the process of collecting information regarding the community’s requirements, opinions and challenges and the available resources that can be used to determine the actual needs of the community. Community needs assessment establishes the capacity of the community to accomplish the desired living standards, the success of community services to meet community needs as well as the required improvements, the changes occurring in the community necessitating interventions. These help to identify the housing, health, educational and socio-economic needs. CAN is concerned with data such as; community’s historical development, geological distribution, political and legal involvements, demographic, economic and socio-cultural associations. The data can be collected through interviews, open community forums, public records and surveys. The CNA should uphold the principles of respecting community values, equal representation and effective communication. References Acosta, O. and Toro, P. A. (2000). “Let’s Ask the Homeless People Themselves: A Needs Assessment Based on a Probability Sample of Adults”. American Journal of Community Psychology, Vol. 28(3):343-66. Adily, A., and Ward, J. (2004). “Evidence based practice in population health: a regional survey to inform workforce development and organisational change”. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 58(6), 455-460 Alpi, K. M. (2005). “Expert searching in public health”. Journal of Medical Library Association, 93(1), 97-103 Basler, T. G. (2005). “Community outreach partnerships”. Reference Serv Rev, 33(1), 31-37. Charles, P., & Henner, T. (2004). “Evaluation from start to finish: Incorporating comprehensive assessment into a training program for public health professionals”. Health Promot Practice, 5(4), 362-371 Forsetlund, L., & Bjorndal, A. (2001). “The potential for research-based information in public health: identifying unrecognised information needs” BMC Public Health, 1(1) Gupta, K. S., Catherine M.; Darlene F. (2007). A Practical Guide to Needs Assessment (2 ed.). Pfeiffer Kaufman, R. (2006). Change, Choices, and Consequences: A Guide to Mega Thinking and Planning. Amherst, MA. HRD Press Inc. Lee, K. Buse, K & Fustukian, S. 2002. Health Promotion in a Globalising World, Cambridge: CUP Lee, K. & Collins, J. 2005. Global Health Watch 2: an alternative world health report, London: Zed. Scriven, A. & Garman, S. 2005. Promoting Health: global perspectives, Palgrave Macmillan. Stevens, A., Raftery, J., Mant, J. and Simpson, S. (2006). Health Care Needs Assessment: The Epidemiologically Based Needs Assessment Reviews, Radcliffe Publishing Ltd Read More