PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNITY HEALTH"
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NRSE_4540_M1_LA_Chapter_006.pdf
Chapter 6
Community Assessment
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Defining the Community
Aggregate of people
The “who”
Share personal characteristics and risks
Location in space and time
The “where” and “when”
Physical location frequently delineated by boundaries and
influenced by the passage of time
Social system
The “why” and “how”
Interrelationships of aggregates fulfilling community
functions
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Diagram of Assessment Parameters
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Figure 6-1
Community Assessment Parameters
Geography
Population
Environment
Industry
Education
Recreations
Religion
Communication
Transportation
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Public services
Political organization
Community development or planning
Disaster programs
Health statistics
Social problems
Health manpower
Health professional organizations
Community services
Healthy Communities
A movement to help
community members bring
about positive health
changes
Interconnectedness between
people and the public and
private sectors is essential to
make changes.
Each community has its
unique perspective.
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Assessing the Community
Windshield survey Gain an understanding of environmental layout
Locate possible areas of environmental concern through “sight, sense, and sound”
Gives nurse an opportunity to observe people and their role in the community
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Windshield Survey
Community vitality
Indicators of social
and economic
conditions
Health resources
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Environmental
conditions related
to health
Social functioning
Attitudes toward
health and health
care
Assessing the Community (Cont.)
Sources of data: Census data and other census reports
Vital statistics
NCHS survey data
Local, regional, and state government reports
Locally generated data collection
Analysis of demographic information provides descriptive information about the population
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Assessing the Community (Cont.)
Needs assessment Used to understand the community’s perspective
Interview key community informants
Use community forums, focus groups, or surveys
12 Steps in a Needs Assessment
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Steps in the Needs Assessment
Process
1. Identify aggregate for assessment
2. Engage the community in planning the assessment
3. Identify required information
4. Select method of data gathering
5. Develop questionnaires or interview questions
6. Develop procedures for data collection
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Steps in the Needs Assessment
Process (Cont.)
7. Train data collectors
8. Arrange for a sample representative of the
aggregate
9. Conduct needs assessment
10. Tabulate and analyze data
11. Identify needs suggested by data
12. Develop an action plan
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Nursing Process
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● The nursing process can be applied to the
community as a client.
Needs assessment
Diagnosing health
problems (actual and
potential)
Planning
Intervention
Evaluation
Format for Community Health
Diagnosis
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Figure 6-3 Redrawn from Muecke MA: Community health diagnosis in
nursing, Public Health Nurs 1:23-35, 1984. Used with permission of Blackwell
Scientific Publications.
Epidemiological Studies Used
Throughout the Nursing Process
Support planning by establishing
effectiveness of certain interventions in
specific aggregates
Construct benchmarks to gauge achievement
of program objectives
Compare data with other rates
Identify objectives of successful programs
Document effectiveness with epidemiological
data
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