Community Health Assessment Report

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Introduction

A community health assessment report is an essential tool for keeping track of the healthcare needs and requirements of the community members. It is an essential means for keeping track of the development and lack thereof in the context of providing effective health services to community members. It has been observed over the years that community health assessment report has not only been used by government agencies but also by non-government agencies too, to determine healthcare needs and ascertain what developmental steps should be taken in order to address any lacking in the context of providing effective healthcare services to the community members. Considering the importance and significance of community health assessment report in the sphere of ushering development in the healthcare system of a country, the report is going to discuss what community health assessment report is, what is its importance in healthcare, and how community health assessment report can inform future practices and help governments to improve the healthcare system of a country effectively.

What is Community Health Assessment Report?

Community health assessment report or community health needs assessment refers to a state, tribal, or territorial health assessment that helps different levels of governments in identifying those key health needs and requirements on the part of the community members, which, in remain unmet, can negatively impact on the overall health condition of the communities constituting the society of a particular country (CDC, 2018). A community health assessment report is a systematic reporting system that collects data comprehensively and then after analyzing the collected data explicitly, publishing the same as an important document for present and future reference in the context of developing and implementing policies to cater to the healthcare needs of specific communities (CDC, 2018). A community health assessment report is a community health improvement plan which is for the long term, entailing systematic effort for addressing public health problems and the solution is provided on the basis of the results of the community health assessment activities which have the potential to propel community health improvement processes (CDC, 2018). Community health assessment report serves as an important component of the overall community health improvement plan that is considered as a long term, systematic effort on the part of the government for addressing public health problems on the basis of the results provided by the community health assessment report in a comprehensive manner (CDC, 2018).

The process of developing and publishing a community health assessment report is based on certain specific principles. Primarily, a community health assessment report is based on the principle of collaboration, and particularly multisector collaboration for the purpose of supporting a notion of shared ownership of all the factors and phases that culminate into community health improvement, and such factors and phases include but are not limited to, health assessment of community members, health development planning, investment in health development efforts, implementation of community health development plans and programs, and post-implementation evaluation for ascertaining if the community health development program is going as per expectations (CDC, 2018). Moreover, the community health assessment report entails a broad area of community health and it aims at providing population-wide interventions that can lead to measurable results, addressing and mitigating healthcare disparities among the targeted consumers of healthcare services within the concerned communities (CDC, 2018). Besides, a community health assessment report is based on the principle of transparency and accountability and this is primarily because a community health assessment report should reflect the broader community through encouraging community engagement by evidentially demonstrating transparency and accountability to the target audience (CDC, 2018). Furthermore, the community health assessment report is evidence-based and the data collection processes are innovative and precise as they adhere to evidence-based practices as shown to be successful in the past.

What Is the Importance of Community Health Assessment Report?

The primary importance and significance of the community health assessment report are that it acts as a tool for informing evidence-based practices and decision-making in the context of improving community health and community healthcare delivery services as a whole (The Municipal Public Health Services Plan Community Health Assessment Guidance and Format, n.d). Community health assessment report acts as an aide to effective decision-making in the context of community healthcare at every level of governmental intervention. In this respect, it has to be noted that the community health assessment report reflects the outcomes of community health assessment which is considered a fundamental tool of public health practice (The Municipal Public Health Services Plan Community Health Assessment Guidance and Format, n.d).

In this regard, it has to be taken into account that community health assessment report helps the health department/health ministry of any country to make a rational decision on healthcare policy development, implementation, and evaluation because community health assessment report presents information on community health status, community health needs, existing and required health resources, and epidemiological information and other studies on the current and past health status of community members (The Municipal Public Health Services Plan Community Health Assessment Guidance and Format, n.d.). This makes the community health information tool an important aspect of the entire healthcare delivery system of any country. Moreover, a community health assessment report is significantly important in the context of ensuring effective healthcare delivery because it aims at identifying those target populations that may be at increased health risk and poor health outcomes so that preventing and curative measures can be taken to cater to the healthcare needs of such populations effectively (The Municipal Public Health Services Plan Community Health Assessment Guidance and Format, n.d.).

How Community Health Assessment Report Inform Future Practice?

In respect of contributing to future research and future effective healthcare delivery practices, community health assessment reports can play a crucial role. It has to be noted that community health assessment report communicates statistical, quantitative, and measurable data with objective information which can be referred to and used by healthcare researchers in the future, making it possible for researchers to bridge research gaps and contribute largely to the development of more effective and efficient healthcare practices and policies that have the potential to do away with the lacking of the past. Hence, from the perspective of providing evidence-based, community health assessment reports can inform future practice explicitly.

How Community Health Assessment Report Contribute to the Improvements in Healthcare System?

Community health assessment report contributes to the improvement of the healthcare system by informing the government and its health department on those communities that are at higher health risks through providing epidemiological and clinical information on the members of such at-risk communities. In this respect, it has to be taken into account that a community health assessment report provides healthcare organizations with comprehensive information about the current health status of communities, their health needs, and the at-risk health issues (Rabarison et al., 2015). Such information helps healthcare organizations (both under government and private findings) to develop and implement strategies to address and mitigate such health-related issues and problems, increasing the health resources of the concerned communities and ensuring their equitable distribution.

Conclusion

Considering the importance and significance of community health assessment report in the sphere of ushering development in the healthcare system of a country, the report discussed what community health assessment report is, what is its importance in healthcare, and how community health assessment report can inform future practices and help governments to improve the healthcare system of a country effectively. Moreover, the report also revealed that the primary importance and significance of community health assessment report is that it acts as a tool for informing evidence-based practices and decision-making in the context of improving community health and community healthcare delivery services as a whole

References

CDC. (2018). Community Health Assessment & Health Improvement Planning. https://www.cdc.gov/publichealthgateway/cha/index.html

Rabarison, K., Timsina, L., & Mays, G. (2015). Community Health Assessment and Improved Public Health Decision-Making: A Propensity Score Matching Approach. American Journal Of Public Health, 105(12), 2526-2533. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2015.302795

The Municipal Public Health Services Plan Community Health Assessment Guidance and Format. (n.d.). https://www.health.ny.gov/statistics/chac/docs/chaguide.pdf