Windshield Survey Community Assessment

W

hat

Is a

Windshi

e

ld

Survey?

A windshield survey is an informal survey where the health professional

drives around

the

community/area they are researching, and records his/

her observations

.

For Nurses

to be able to knowledgeably plan services for a community, it is essential to know

a

specific community, identify health

-

related resources that may be helpful to members, and learn

about gaps in services. A windshield survey is conducted from a car and provides a visual

overview of a community. Conditions and trends in the community tha

t could affect the health of

the population are noted.

What Is a Community Health Assessment?

A community health assessment (sometimes called a CHA), also known as community health

needs assessment (sometimes called a CHNA), refers to a state, tribal, local, or territorial health

assessment that identifies key health needs and issues through system

atic, comprehensive data

collection and analysis. Community health assessments use such principles as

·

Multisector collaborations that support shared ownership of all phases of community

health improvement, including assessment, planning, investment, implem

entation, and

evaluation

·

Proactive, broad, and diverse community engagement to improve results

·

A definition of community that encompasses both a significant enough area to allow for

population

-

wide interventions and measurable results, and includes a targe

ted focus to

address disparities among subpopulations

·

Maximum transparency to improve community engagement and accountability

·

Use of evidence

-

based interventions and encouragement of innovative practices with

thorough evaluation

·

Evaluation to inform a cont

inuous improvement process

·

Use of the highest quality data pooled from, and shared among, diverse public and private

sources

From

Principles to Consider for the Implementation of a Community Health Needs Assessment

Process

Cdc

-

pdf

[PDF

–

457KB]

External

(June 2013), Sara Rosenbaum, JD, The George

Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, Department of Health

Policy.

The Public Health Accreditation board defines

community health assessment

as a systematic

examination of the health status indicators for a given population that is used to identify key

problems and assets in a community. The ultimate goal of a com

munity health assessment is to

develop strategies to address the community’s health needs and identified issues. A variety of

tools and processes may be used to conduct a community health assessment; the essential

ingredients are community engagement and c

ollaborative participation.

—

Turnock B.

Public Health: What It Is and How It Works. Jones and Bartlett, 2009,

as adapted

What Is a Windshield Survey?

A windshield survey is an informal survey where the health professional drives around

the community/area they are researching, and records his/her observations.

For Nurses to be able to knowledgeably plan services for a community, it is essential to know a

specific community, identify health-related resources that may be helpful to members, and learn

about gaps in services. A windshield survey is conducted from a car and provides a visual

overview of a community. Conditions and trends in the community that could affect the health of

the population are noted.

What Is a Community Health Assessment?

A community health assessment (sometimes called a CHA), also known as community health

needs assessment (sometimes called a CHNA), refers to a state, tribal, local, or territorial health

assessment that identifies key health needs and issues through systematic, comprehensive data

collection and analysis. Community health assessments use such principles as

 Multisector collaborations that support shared ownership of all phases of community

health improvement, including assessment, planning, investment, implementation, and

evaluation

 Proactive, broad, and diverse community engagement to improve results

 A definition of community that encompasses both a significant enough area to allow for

population-wide interventions and measurable results, and includes a targeted focus to

address disparities among subpopulations

 Maximum transparency to improve community engagement and accountability

 Use of evidence-based interventions and encouragement of innovative practices with

thorough evaluation

 Evaluation to inform a continuous improvement process

 Use of the highest quality data pooled from, and shared among, diverse public and private

sources

From Principles to Consider for the Implementation of a Community Health Needs Assessment

Process Cdc-pdf[PDF – 457KB]External (June 2013), Sara Rosenbaum, JD, The George

Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, Department of Health

Policy.

The Public Health Accreditation board defines community health assessment as a systematic

examination of the health status indicators for a given population that is used to identify key

problems and assets in a community. The ultimate goal of a community health assessment is to

develop strategies to address the community’s health needs and identified issues. A variety of

tools and processes may be used to conduct a community health assessment; the essential

ingredients are community engagement and collaborative participation.

—Turnock B. Public Health: What It Is and How It Works. Jones and Bartlett, 2009, as adapted