Technologic enrichment of a community needs assessment

In this article, we have reported the implementation and evaluation of a project to improve the community needs assessment process and product through technologic enhancement. Our description of the method reveals our heavy emphasis on the ethnographic approach in this model of community analysis. An Academic Enrichment Grant provided the two of us, community health nursing faculty members, funding to purchase tape recorders, a transcriber, a laptop computer, and a printer to facilitate the needs assessment. We evaluated the project in terms of accuracy, enhanced analysis, ease and efficiency, and student learning of ethnographic methods. The project did improve accuracy and enhanced the analysis. Although it improved ease of data collection, organization, and presentation, it did not produce a savings in time. It did facilitate student learning of ethnographic interviewing and analysis. Recommendations included expanding the use of technology, increasing training and student responsibility, and expanding the actual needs assessment to a two-semester project.