A community health assessment examines health needs for a population.
A community health assessment examines the health care issues present in a population and identifies health care needs. Community health assessments are important because they help state, local, and national agencies allocate resources.
What is a Community Health Assessment?
Community health assessments seek to improve public health.
A community health assessment is a multi-step process that collects and analyzes data about health care issues and health care needs in a given population. These assessments are often part of a city or state's strategic plan. The community health assessment identifies pressing public health needs. This data is then used to set priorities and allocate resources. The ultimate goal of a community health assessment is to identify ways to improve the overall public health.
How is a Community Health Assessment Conducted?
A wide variety of data is used in a community health assessment.
Community health assessments are conducted regularly and involve the systematic collection of public health data. A team of public health professionals collects a wide variety of data about health in a given population. This can include data such as vital statistics, aggregate data from hospitals on common presenting problems, or first-hand data about health care issues and common health problems. First-hand data may be collected through interviews and other direct methods.
Why are Community Health Assessments Important?
Community health assessments identify barriers to health care access.
Community health assessments are used to set public health priorities and identify barriers to access to health care. Local and state governments can then create programs to address barriers and pressing public health issues, as well as allocate money and human resources to the most important areas as they seek to improve public health.
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