Developing a Congregational Health Needs Assessment: Lessons Learned from Using a Participatory Research Approach

Health needs assessments help congregations identify issues of importance to them and the communities they serve. Few tools exist, with little known about the processes needed to develop such tools.

Develop a congregational health needs assessment tool and implementation protocol with community, health-care, and academic partners.

Meetings began in August 2018 to develop the Mid-South Congregational Health Needs Survey (MSCHS) and implementation protocol. Pilot testing occurred in December 2018 and feedback from 95 churches was used in modifications.

The MSCHS includes: demographics section, a 36-item health index, and the congregation's top five needs.The implementation protocol includes steps for working with congregation leadership to identify members to complete the survey.

Cross-disciplinary partnerships made the creation of the MSCHS and implementation protocol possible. Successes include long-term engagement across partnership sectors, organizational "buy-in," and development of a common language. These lessons can help others wanting to develop successful multi-sector partnerships.