Environmental scan: A planning tool for high-impact community health assessments to meet public health accreditation standards

Background: Community Health Assessments (CHA) provide a foundation for public health planning and evaluation to improve health outcomes for a jurisdiction, and are crucial to achieving public health accreditation. Denver’s initial CHA was completed in 2008 and is updated every three years. In preparation for the 2014 CHA, an environmental scan was completed to identify best practices, prioritize health information, and incorporate novel techniques for sharing health data with the public.

Methods: The environmental scan consisted of a systematic review of CHAs and similar health status reports from public health agencies, and key informant interviews with representatives from 15 multi-sectorial organizations throughout the Denver metro-area comprised of end users and public health professionals with experience conducting CHAs. The environmental scan served as mechanism to garner feedback regarding the 2011 Denver CHA, compile suggested improvements from end users, define expectations and recommendations for the 2014 CHA, and delineate best practice strategies for completing CHAs. Additionally, community member interviews were conducted to increase the utility of the 2014 CHA and enhance awareness of public health accreditation.

Results: Qualitative data analysis findings suggest the need to clearly define intended audiences, differentiate aspects of the assessment to produce meaningful information for various segments of the community, and incorporate marketing strategies to maximize the utility of CHAs. Place-based analysis should include neighborhood specific data to inform community organizations, while health data by city council district should be presented to local governmental authorities. The scan also yielded the necessity to demonstrate the impact of social determinants on health outcomes, and to formulate CHA findings into actionable items for end users.

Conclusion: Thoughtful prioritization promotes the efficient application of resources and contributes to effective CHAs. A comprehensive environmental scan incorporating community input serves as a planning tool for accomplishing high-impact CHAs and meeting accreditation standards.