Community Diagnosis With permission from Laura Gonzalez PhD, ARNP, CNE University of Central Florida 1

Definition of a “Community” A cluster of people with at least one common characteristic (geographic location, occupation, ethnicity, housing condition……) A group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society 2

Community A community is a whole entity that functions because of the interdependence of its parts or subsystems. Eight subsystems plus the community core are identified. 3

Community Core 1.Community core history Socio-demographic characteristics Vital statistics Values Beliefs Religions 4

Eight Subsystems 2. Eight subsystems: Physical environment Education Safety and transportation Politics and government Health and social services Communication Economics Recreation 5

Definition of Community Diagnosis Community Diagnosis generally refers to the identification and quantification of health problems in a community as a whole in terms of mortality and morbidity rates and ratios, and identification of their correlates for the purpose of defining those at risk or those in need of health care. 6

The Community Diagnosis Process “A means of examining aggregate and social statistics in addition to the knowledge of the local situation, in order to determine the health needs of the community” 7

Goal The mission of community diagnosis is to: – Analyze the health status of the community – Evaluate the health resources, services, and systems of care within the community – Assess attitudes toward community health services and issues – Identify priorities, establish goals, and determine courses of action to improve the health status of the community – Establish an epidemiologic baseline for measuring improvement over time. 8

How is the community diagnosed? 9

Community Analysis Community analysis is the process of examining data to define needs, strengths, barriers, opportunities, readiness, and resources. The product of analysis is the “community profile”. 10

Community Analysis (cont.) Analysis of assessment data is key to categorize the data. This may be done as following: – Demographic – Environmental – Socioeconomic – Health resources and services – Health policies – Study of target groups. 11

Health Indicators 12

Characteristics of Indicators: Valid- they should actually measure what they are supposed to measure Reliable and objective- the answers should be the same if measured by different people in similar circumstances Sensitive- they should be sensitive to changes in the situation concerned Specific-they should reflect changes only in the situation concerned Feasible- they should have the ability to obtain data needed Relevant- they should contribute to the understanding of the phenomenon of interest. 13

Classification of Health Indicators Mortality indicators Morbidity indicators Disability rates Nutritional status indicators Health care delivery indicators Utilization rates Indicators of social and mental health Environmental indicators Socio-economic indicators Health policy indicators Indicators of quality of life Other indicators 14

The process of community diagnosis involves four stages: – Initiation – Data collection and analysis – Diagnosis – Dissemination 15

Questions Refer to this for the project 16