Assessing Community Resources: © 2006 Thomson-Wadsworth

Chapter 2
Assessing Community
Resources
© 2006 Thomson-Wadsworth
Learning Objectives
• Describe seven steps in conducting a
community needs assessment.
• Develop a statement that defines the
nutritional problem within the
community.
• Discuss the contribution of the target
population to community needs
assessment planning and priority
setting.
Learning Objectives
• Define the terms incidence and

prevalence, and explain how these
concepts describe a population’s
and the community’s health.
• Describe three types of data about
the community that can be
collected, and indicate where these
data are found.
Introduction
• The process of community

nutrition assessment is much like
the challenge of producing the
“best” photograph of your city.
Community Needs
Assessment
• Community needs assessment is
the process of:
– Evaluating the health and nutritional
status of the community.
– Determining what the community’s
health and nutritional needs are.
– Identifying places where those needs
are not being met.
Community Needs
Assessment
• It involves systematically
collecting, analyzing, and making
available information about the
health and nutritional status of the
community.
Community Needs
Assessment
• Health status refers to the condition of
a population’s health, including
estimates of its quality of life and
physical and psychosocial functioning.
• Nutritional status is defined as the
condition of a population’s health as
affected by the intakes and utilization of
nutrients and nonnutrients.
Community Needs
Assessment
• Any number of factors may trigger the
need for a community needs
assessment:
– Existing data are old or data have never
been collected on some segment of the
population.
– A mandate by a government agency at the
state or federal level.
– Research findings provide the impetus for
taking action.
– Availability of funding serves as the
impetus.
Community Needs
Assessment
• Organizations approach community
needs assessment by first determining
its purpose and then planning how it
will proceed.
• The scope of an assessment must be
specified because it can be designed to
identify the health and nutritional
problems of a large population or it can
focus on a particular subgroup of the
community.
Community Needs
Assessment
• Regardless of scope, the purpose of the
community needs assessment is to
obtain information about the health and
nutritional status of the target
population.
• No matter what the scope is, there are
certain principles and a specific process
for conducting a community needs
assessment.
Basic Principles of Needs
Assessment
• Step 1: Define the Nutritional
Problem
– The community nutritionist develops
a concise statement of the problem of
concern.
– The problem statement is used to
help plan the assessment and
motivate other agencies to join the
assessment team.
Assessment – Step 1
• The problem statement should indicate:
– Who is affected by the nutritional problem.
– How many people experience the problem.
– The impact of the problem on general
health or nutritional status.
– Areas where there are gaps in the
community’s knowledge of a nutritional
problem.
• Step 2: Set the Parameters of the
Assessment
– Certain parameters or elements must
be determined before the community
needs assessment is undertaken.
• The parameters set the direction
for the assessment:
– Define “Community”
– Determine the Purpose of the Needs
Assessment
– Define the Target Population
– Set Goals and Objectives for the
Needs Assessment
– Specify the Types of Data Needed
• Define “Community.”
– Define “community” which might
include the people who represent the
target population and live within a
certain geographical region.
• Determine the Purpose of the Needs
Assessment
– Identify groups who are at risk nutritionally.
– Identify the most critical needs and set
priorities among them.
– Determine the factors that contribute to a
nutritional problem.
– Determine whether existing resources and
programs meet the needs of the population.
• Determine the Purpose of the
Needs Assessment (continued)
– Provide baseline information for
developing action plans to address
needs.
– Plan actions to improve nutritional
status.
– Tailor a program to a specific
population.
• Define the Target Population.
– Define the target population whose
health and nutritional status is
affected by many community,
environmental, and personal factors.
• Set Goals and Objectives for the
Needs Assessment
– Goals and objectives determine the
types of data collected and how they
will be used.
– Goals are broad statements that
indicate what the assessment is
expected to accomplish.
• Set Goals and Objectives for the Needs
Assessment (continued)
– Objectives are statements of outcomes and
activities needed to reach a goal and they
generally include a strong verb, such as
increase, decrease, or reduce, that
describes a measurable outcome.
– Each objective should state a single
purpose.
• Specify the Types of Data Needed.
– Specify the types of data needed,
which depends on the purpose, goals,
and objectives of the assessment.
• Step 3: Collect Data
– Begin first by collecting data about
the community or environment in
which the target population lives and
works.
– Next, collect data about individuals
who make up the target population.
• Both qualitative and quantitative data
help describe the community, its values,
health problems, and needs.
– Qualitative data include opinions and
insights derived from interviews with:
• Those people who are knowledgeable about the
community, called key informants, and with
• Stakeholders who have a vested interest in
identifying and addressing the nutritional
problem.
• Members of the target population itself
can provide information about the
community.
• Quantitative data can be derived from a
variety of databases, including
– Registries of vital statistics
– Published research studies
– Hospital records
– Local health surveys
• Types of data to collect about the
community include:
– Community characteristics
– Environmental characteristics
– Socioeconomic characteristics
• Community Characteristics
– Community organizational power and
structures including the key players in
local health organizations and media
groups.
– Demographic data and trends such as
sex, age, race, martial status, and
living arrangements.
• Community Characteristics
– Community health which can include a
variety of health statistics such as the
causes and rates of disease, disability, and
death and the population’s nutrition
problems.
– Existing community services and programs
that can be used to pinpoint gaps where
services are needed.
• Environmental Characteristics
– Access to medical clinics
– Access to transportation
– Access to nutritious foods
• Socioeconomic Characteristics
– Income of families
– Number of families receiving public
assistance
– Educational level
– Literacy rate
– Major industries and occupations
• Sources of Data about the
Community
– Observing the target population in
the community setting including
where people shop for food and their
perceptions of nutritional problems.
– Networking with colleagues who may
be aware of similar assessments done
in other areas.
• Sources of Data about the Community
– Interviewing key informants such as formal
community leaders like the mayor, religious
leaders, or members of the media.
– Conducting an internet and library search of
the literature on the nutritional problem
which can locate many types of
demographic and socioeconomic data from
the U.S. Bureau of Censes, Bureau of Labor
Statistics, USDA, and the DHHS.
• Collect Data about Background
Conditions
– National policy can affect eligibility for food
assistance programs, minimum wage levels,
distribution of commodity foods, and other
factors important to nutritional status.
– The broad culture, which is the
interconnected web of human knowledge,
beliefs, and behaviors that are learned and
transmitted to succeeding generations, can
also influence food intake and nutritional
status.
• Collect Data about Background
Conditions
– Background information on the
community’s or region’s health status
is also important and can be obtained
from international agencies such as
the Food and Agriculture
Organization.
• Collect Data about the Target
Population
– Existing Data
• Use existing data about health statistics
and behavioral information related to
your target group.
Population
– Existing Data Sources
• National Nutrition Monitoring and Related
Research Program
• Public Health Reports
• New England Journal of Medicine
Population
– New Data
• In some situations new data may need to
be collected about target populations and
methods can include nutrition surveys,
health risk appraisals, screening tools, or
focus groups.
• Step 4: Analyze and Interpret the
Data
– Data collected must be analyzed and
examined and used to diagnose the
community.
• Four steps are involved in making
a community diagnosis:
– Step 1: Interpret the state of health of the
target population within the community.
– Step 2: Interpret the pattern of health care
services and programs designed to reach
the target population.
• Community diagnosis (continued):
– Step 3: Interpret the relationship between
the target population’s health status and
health care in the community.
– Step 4: Summarize the evidence linking the
target population’s major nutritional
problems to their environment.
• The summary describes the following:
– The dimensions of the nutritional problem,
including its severity, extent, and frequency.
– Its distribution across urban, rural, or
regional settings and across age groups.
– Its causes.
– The mortality and morbidity associated with
it.
• The summary should also describe:
– The major strengths of existing community
resources and health care services as they
related to the target population.
– The areas where health problems seem to
be concentrated.
– The areas where health care delivery could
be improved.
• The summary may also provide
information about the cost of
treating versus preventing the
nutritional problem and the social
consequences of not intervening in
the target population.
• Step 5: Share the Findings of the
Assessment
– Sharing the findings with other groups and
stakeholders is cost-effective, prevents
duplication of effort, and promotes
cooperation among organizations.
– Sharing also enlarges the sphere of
awareness about the nutritional problem.
• However, releasing the results of
the assessment to the community
at large, without seeking the
support and approval of the
stakeholders, can create ill will.
• Step 6: Set Priorities
– When several nutrition problems are
identified the question becomes which
health outcome is most important.
• Health outcome refers to the effect of an
intervention on the health and well-being of an
individual or population.
• The best health outcome is improvement in the
nutritional status of the target population.
• The community nutritionist should
utilize principles that provide
guidance in identifying problems of
the highest priority and should
compare findings of the
community assessment with
Healthy People 2010 objectives.
• Step 7: Choose a Plan of Action
– Key findings of the assessment should be
shared with community leaders and other
people who are interested in the health and
well-being of the target population.
– Another action is to use the assessment’s
findings to advocate for a change in
legislation or public policy that will improve
the health potential of the target
population.
• Releasing the findings to the media is
one way to increase awareness of the
problem and build support for policy
changes that address the problem.
• A workshop or conference could also be
organized to obtain additional
information on the problem or the
decision might be made to alter an
existing program, change a marketing
campaign, or change the mechanism for
delivering a program.
The Nutrition Service Project
• A successful education program

that utilizes college students to
help adolescents and teens:
– Distinguish between sound and
unhealthful nutrition information in
the media
– Learn fundamentals of good nutrition
• Goals and Objectives
– Primary goal = helping children in
underprivileged areas learn about health
and nutrition
– Objectives include:
• Promoting volunteerism in the college
environment
• Helping a community that had limited access to
health promotion and education programs
• Researching nutrition habits and media viewing
among middle/high school students
• Target Audience
– Students attending grades 7 through
12 in a rural community in
Pennsylvania
• Rationale for the Intervention
– Health behaviors begin developing in
childhood.
• Methodology
– College students are trained
– College students teach nutrition/media
literacy during spring break
– 4 components:
• Student director
• Group of students in leadership roles for the
project
• A middle school or high school
• Financial resources to cover training and program
costs
• Results
– Contributed approximately 2,500
volunteer hours
– Reached 230 Pennsylvania youths
– 2001: 116 intervention students and
60 control students participated
• Results (continued)
– Before the intervention, preliminary data
demonstrated that participants were not
able to identify accurate nutrition
information.
– After the intervention, participants had
greater understanding of how to view media
critically and how to identify accurate
articles about nutrition.
Entrepreneurship in Community
Needs Assessment
• Community nutritionists can apply the
principles of entrepreneurship to
community needs assessment by:
– Developing new strategies for collecting
information about hard-to-reach
populations.
– Forging new partnerships with food
producers, retailers, distributors, and
marketers to collect information about
dietary patterns and beliefs at the local
level.
Needs Assessment
• Community nutritionists can apply
the principles of entrepreneurship
to community needs assessment
by:
– Developing new methods of assessing
nutritional needs and problems.
Needs Assessment
• The COMPASS tool kit developed by
United Way of America is an example of
entrepreneurship in community
assessment.
• Look for examples in your community of
organizations or people who recognized
an opportunity and took the initiative to
improve the community’s quality of life.
Getting Where You Want to
Go
• Square 1: Know Yourself
• Square 2: Define Your Dreams
– What would you most like, ideally, to be?
– What would you most like, ideally, to do?
– What kinds of experiences help you feel
complete?
– In what kinds of situations do you most
want and tend to share yourself?
Go
• Square 3: Set Goals ("mission
statement")
• Example:*
– Succeed at home first.
– Never compromise with honesty.
– Be sincere yet decisive.
– Develop 1 new proficiency a year.
– etc.
*Adapted from S.R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (New York:
Simon & Schuster, 1989), p. 106.
Go
• Square 4: Develop an Action Plan
– Develop a picture in your mind’s eye
of what you want to do with your life.
– Pretest your mental picture.
– Predetermine your alternatives.
• Learn to Manage Yourself

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Chapter 2

• Define the terms incidence and

• The process of community

• A successful education program

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