Using CBPR to Assess Client Needs at a Social Service Agency

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Community Health Research
• Social Work

Background:

• Community-based participatory research (CBPR) facilitates university-social service agency partnerships.
• CBPR integrates partners in all research phases: design, planning, implementation, and evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a collaborative needs assessment using CBPR between Rutgers College of Nursing (RUCON) and FOCUS, an urban social service agency.
• To compare clients' health needs with their employees' perceptions of those needs.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative data collection through focus groups, field notes, photographs, and observation.
• Agency employees (FOCUS) actively facilitated focus groups, participant recruitment, and data transcription/translation.

Main Results:

• Three emergent themes identified: Health Education, Cost of Health Care, and Barriers to Health Care.
• The CBPR approach facilitated a direct reflection of clients' identified health needs.

Conclusions:

• This study supports the integration of CBPR in community needs assessments with social service agencies.
• CBPR enhances the development of targeted interventions that meet specific client health needs.