Assessing community health needs in Jeddah Second Health Cluster: A qualitative descriptive study

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Community Health
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Community Health Needs Assessments are crucial for identifying and prioritizing health issues in specific populations.
• Effective resource allocation depends on understanding and addressing identified community health needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and rank the top five community health needs within the Jeddah Second Health Cluster.
• This study provides a data-driven foundation for targeted health interventions.

Main Methods:

• A qualitative descriptive study involving 458 participants (240 community members, 218 healthcare providers).
• Data collection included 40 focus groups and 218 individual interviews using purposive sampling.
• Data analysis involved coding, categorization into themes, and prioritization using Hanlon's method.

Main Results:

• Five critical community health needs were identified in the Jeddah Second Health Cluster.
• Top concerns include high smoking/shisha use, inadequate elder care services, widespread chronic diseases, prevalent mental health disorders, and insufficient public health education.

Conclusions:

• Targeted strategies are essential to address the identified urgent community health needs.
• Recommendations include enhancing elder care, chronic disease management, mental health services, and health education, alongside smoking cessation initiatives.
• Successful interventions necessitate strong community engagement and collaboration.