Witold M. Migala, MPH, PhD¹, Michael J. Kazda, MA², Jessica D. Martinez, MPH¹, and Elizabeth Rossmann Beel, MPH¹. (1) Epidemiology & Assessment, City of Fort Worth Public Health Department, 1800 University, Fort Worth, TX 76107, 817-871-6209, Witold.Migala@fortworthgov.org, (2) Department of Public Health, City of Fort Worth, 1800 University Drive, Room 218, Fort Worth, TX 76107

To determine appropriate priorities for health planning and interventions, a number of data sources must be integrated to best capture the needs of community. Assessment of health and social needs ensures that community input drives strategic planning and programmatic decisions. Annual review of available health indicators, i.e. mortality and natality data, provides insight into health conditions in the community, but does not take into account indicators regarding the individual and community perceptions of the severity and importance of health conditions. Though needs may be inferred through morbidity and mortality, actual surveying of citizen opinions often reveals drastically different priorities than what might be suggested by more objective data sources. Local governments must factor in resident opinions as well as established health indicators to cultivate effective health interventions. A comprehensive community needs assessment was conducted with a randomly selected, representative sample of 3,361 respondents from a diverse urban population in 2003. This reassessment of the municipal population surveyed in 1998 provided a highly reliable method of determining individual health priorities and issues within the community. Information on disease prevalence, health status, and perceived greatest household health problems was collected and contrasted with mortality data from the municipality. Dissimilarities noted between data sources provide insight into the divergence between community perceptions of health priorities and objective evaluation of available data. Effective and unbiased prioritization of health interventions depends on an accurate and insightful analysis of both objective and subjective data sources to best meet the needs of the community.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the use of Community Needs Assessment data in context of targeting community interventions; Recognize the benefits of integrating subjective and objective data in developing effective programming; Understand the importance of perceived health and social needs in addressing community health and social conditions.

Keywords: Community Health Assessment, Evaluation

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.