PHE 5001 Community Needs Assessment as it Relates to Theories
PHE 5001 Community Needs Assessment as it Relates to Theories
Demonstrated the ability to design a needs assessment methodology.
Chose the appropriate theory to address selected public health issue.
Organized the analysis for final presentation.
Presented a structured document free of spelling and grammatical errors.
Provided a report that is original and free from plagiarism.
Properly cited sources using APA format.
Purpose of the pack
This pack provides practical help and guidance to a nurse1 undertaking community health
needs assessment. It provides information and advice on the stages of needs assessment,
enabling the nurse to complete the process realistically within her/his everyday work. This
pack does not assume any prior knowledge of the subject.
What is a community health needs assessment? Community health needs assessment is a process that:
describes the state of health of local people;
enables the identification of the major risk factors and causes of ill health; and
enables the identification of the actions needed to address these.
A community health needs assessment is not a one-off activity but a developmental process
that is added to and amended over time. It is not an end in itself but a way of using
information to plan health care and public health programmes in the future.
The steps of community health needs assessment are as follows.
PHE 5001 Community Needs Assessment as it Relates to Theories
Profiling
the collection of relevant information that will inform the nurse about the state
of health and health needs of the population; and
analysis of this information to identify the major health issues.
Deciding on priorities for action
Planning public health and health care programmes to address the priority issues
Implementing the planned activities
Evaluation of health outcomes
Why do it?
Needs assessment will enable the nurse to:
plan and deliver the most effective care to those in greatest need;
apply the principles of equity and social justice in practice;
ensure that scarce resources are allocated where they can give maximum health
benefit; and
1
The term “nurse” is used as a generic term throughout this pack to cover all nurses, midwives and public
health nurses.
2
work collaboratively with the community, other professionals and agencies to
determine which health issues cause greatest concern and plan interventions to
address those issues.
Concepts and principles of health needs assessment
Defining “health” and “need”
This pack uses a holistic model of health, emphasizing the social, economic and cultural
factors that affect health as well as individual behaviour. The concept of “need” used in this
pack incorporates those needs felt and expressed by local people as well as those defined by
professionals. It moves beyond the concept of demand and takes account of people’s
capacity to benefit from health care and public health programmes.
Factors affecting health
Health is affected by a number of factors:
the physical environment in which people live, such as the quality of the air they
breathe and the water they drink;
the social environment – the level of social and emotional support people receive
from friends and/or family;
poverty, a significant factor worldwide, which shortens and reduces enjoyment of
life;
behaviour and lifestyle – for example, smoking causes lung cancer and coronary
heart disease so a reduction in this behaviour will reduce the disease; and
family genetics and individual biology – if you come from a healthy family you
have a better chance of staying well.
This pack will encourage the nurse to consider all these risk factors in relation to a
community and make an assessment of their importance.