The National Association of County and City Health Organizations describe a community health assessment as "a process that uses quantitative and qualitative methods to systematically collect and analyze health data within a specific community."
Reflection:
Before learning about the importance of a community health assessment (CHA), I assumed that obtaining census data from the target community would be sufficient in learning about health problems of an area, and this information would then tell you how to proceed with the health problems. However, after learning the multiple steps of a CHA, I now know that would have been an incomplete approach. By just focusing on census data alone, I would be missing important data obtained from personal observations as well as feedback from the community. For example, knowing that a community has a large younger Hispanic population, daycare and interpreters would be crucial for community participation. CHA’s are important to understand the role of community in health promotion. They also assist the community in identifying their most important health issues. I believe it also sets the tone of allowing the community to feel included in the assessment and improvement process. To learn more about what is involved in a CHA, we completed a mock CHA in a small neighborhood called Waughtown, located not too far from where I live in Winston- Salem, NC. This community in fact had a large Hispanic population with young children so any interaction with its members would require interpreters and possibly childcare- important information that we would have missed if we had only used census data. I found that Waughtown was similar to many of the neighborhoods I visit for work, doing home visits for the underserved in Greensboro, NC. Many of the families I see in Greensboro struggle with food insecurity and after speaking with many community members and key informants, I found this to be similar in Waughtown as well. I have now seen this in two of the major cities in NC so it leads me to believe that food insecurity is a much larger problem than I once thought.
Evidence:
Background:
Waughtown is located in Winston- Salem, NC. Historically, this neighborhood was an up and coming, working class area of Winston- Salem, with many factory jobs available. As the factories left so did the jobs and the population changed. We completed the following components of CHA data collection: several windshield/ walking tours, a socio-demographic profile, and ethnographic interviews with key community informants. We then gathered data to create a health profile.
Methods:
To prepare for our visit to Waughtown, we gathered information from the national census, the Forsyth County website and mapped out the neighborhoods parameters. After driving through the night before, the abandoned buildings and lack of upkeep in many yards, homes and stores, brought forth a little curiosity and a little fear. I guess I was scared of a neighborhood that didn't necessarily look like mine but curious about this community that was so close to mine. So, to better understand Waughtown first hand, we completed several walking tours at various times of days and days of the week. We walked by homes, parks, a community garden, an elementary school and grocery stores. We interviewed 'key informants' at community centers, churches, schools and grocery stores.
Results:
From our observations, conversations with community members and our census research, I learned that Waughtown was once a bustling part of town. This area of Winston- Salem has a large immigrant population and appears to very family oriented. The local grocery stores offered many Hispanic foods and it was common to see parents walking with their children during our windshield tours. Knowing this vital information would be important moving forward with any health intervention. To make sure people attend any meetings or health promotion events, it’s possible that interpreters and childcare could be needed. This is something we might not have known without seeing and talking with community members first hand.
Recommendations:
After interviewing a variety of Waughtown key informants, it was evident that there are a variety of different recourses for those struggling in the community (food banks, free clothing sites, rent assistance, etc.). However, what is missing is that there is not a central place where people can learn what is available to them. We recommended making a list of these local resources in English and Spanish that is available online or printed and distributed at churches, grocery stores and other common areas.
Click the Waughtown Prezi button below to learn more about our findings.
Reflection:
Before learning about the importance of a community health assessment (CHA), I assumed that obtaining census data from the target community would be sufficient in learning about health problems of an area, and this information would then tell you how to proceed with the health problems. However, after learning the multiple steps of a CHA, I now know that would have been an incomplete approach. By just focusing on census data alone, I would be missing important data obtained from personal observations as well as feedback from the community. For example, knowing that a community has a large younger Hispanic population, daycare and interpreters would be crucial for community participation. CHA’s are important to understand the role of community in health promotion. They also assist the community in identifying their most important health issues. I believe it also sets the tone of allowing the community to feel included in the assessment and improvement process. To learn more about what is involved in a CHA, we completed a mock CHA in a small neighborhood called Waughtown, located not too far from where I live in Winston- Salem, NC. This community in fact had a large Hispanic population with young children so any interaction with its members would require interpreters and possibly childcare- important information that we would have missed if we had only used census data. I found that Waughtown was similar to many of the neighborhoods I visit for work, doing home visits for the underserved in Greensboro, NC. Many of the families I see in Greensboro struggle with food insecurity and after speaking with many community members and key informants, I found this to be similar in Waughtown as well. I have now seen this in two of the major cities in NC so it leads me to believe that food insecurity is a much larger problem than I once thought.
Evidence:
Background:
Waughtown is located in Winston- Salem, NC. Historically, this neighborhood was an up and coming, working class area of Winston- Salem, with many factory jobs available. As the factories left so did the jobs and the population changed. We completed the following components of CHA data collection: several windshield/ walking tours, a socio-demographic profile, and ethnographic interviews with key community informants. We then gathered data to create a health profile.
Methods:
To prepare for our visit to Waughtown, we gathered information from the national census, the Forsyth County website and mapped out the neighborhoods parameters. After driving through the night before, the abandoned buildings and lack of upkeep in many yards, homes and stores, brought forth a little curiosity and a little fear. I guess I was scared of a neighborhood that didn't necessarily look like mine but curious about this community that was so close to mine. So, to better understand Waughtown first hand, we completed several walking tours at various times of days and days of the week. We walked by homes, parks, a community garden, an elementary school and grocery stores. We interviewed 'key informants' at community centers, churches, schools and grocery stores.
Results:
From our observations, conversations with community members and our census research, I learned that Waughtown was once a bustling part of town. This area of Winston- Salem has a large immigrant population and appears to very family oriented. The local grocery stores offered many Hispanic foods and it was common to see parents walking with their children during our windshield tours. Knowing this vital information would be important moving forward with any health intervention. To make sure people attend any meetings or health promotion events, it’s possible that interpreters and childcare could be needed. This is something we might not have known without seeing and talking with community members first hand.
Recommendations:
After interviewing a variety of Waughtown key informants, it was evident that there are a variety of different recourses for those struggling in the community (food banks, free clothing sites, rent assistance, etc.). However, what is missing is that there is not a central place where people can learn what is available to them. We recommended making a list of these local resources in English and Spanish that is available online or printed and distributed at churches, grocery stores and other common areas.
Click the Waughtown Prezi button below to learn more about our findings.