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Can you do a community assessment without talking to the community?
1Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque 87131, USA. rlwilliams@salud.unm.edu
Journal of Community Health
|August 8, 2001
Summary
Health professionals can sometimes represent community health views, but community members offer unique insights into social determinants. Both perspectives are valuable for effective health planning and decision-making.
Area of Science:
- Community Health
- Qualitative Research Methods
- Health Disparities
Background:
- Accurate community health views are crucial, especially with managed care.
- Traditional methods for gathering community health data are often costly and impractical.
- This study explores an alternative approach using health professionals to gather community health insights.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if health professionals can accurately and cost-effectively represent community health views.
- To compare the qualitative data gathered from community residents and health professionals.
- To assess the feasibility and limitations of using health professionals as proxies for community health perspectives.
Main Methods:
- A case study in a low-income urban community.
- Qualitative data collection via focus groups, surveys, and interviews.
- Comparison of data from community residents, patients, and health professionals.
Main Results:
- Community residents emphasized socioeconomic factors and daily concerns.
- Health professionals focused more on the process of healthcare delivery.
- Both groups identified a need for community health education, with differing views on available resources.
Conclusions:
- Health professionals can adequately represent community views in limited contexts.
- Complementary perspectives from both community members and health professionals enhance understanding.
- Community members remain essential for health planning and decision-making, regardless of data collection methods.