The Community Assessment Guidebook (Guidebook)-Equipping NC Public Health Workforce to Conduct a Comprehensive Community Health Assessment

Every four years, health departments are required to conduct a Community Health Assessment through a consolidated agreement between the North Carolina Division of Public Health and individual health departments.  Also, Community Health Assessment is am important component of the local health department accreditation process.  The North Carolina Local Health Department Accreditation Board expects health departments to meet certain requirements when completing the assessment such as:

-Provide evidence of community collaboration in planning and conducting the assessment

-Describe socioeconomic, educational and environmental factors that affect health

-Collect and analyze data to describe the health status of the community

-Identify at-risk populations

-Identify existing and needed health resources

-Identify leading community health problems

Conducting a comprehensive health assessment is a great expectation and a huge undertaking.  The Office of Healthy Carolinians-Health Education has the responsibility of equipping NC Public Health workforce with the resources and tools needed to conduct a comprehensive, quality community assessment.  The Community Assessment Guidebook (Guidebook) is a toolkit which provides a framework for conducting a comprehensive and collaborative community-oriented assessment.  Initially created in 2002, the Guidebook provides easy-to-follow guidelines assisting communities through the assessment process.  The Guidebook went through an extensive revision in 2008 providing more detailed instructions on structuring an assessment team, collecting and analyzing data, setting priorities, and how to engage community members in the process.  Chapters related to data were revised to be more understandable for readers who may not have a background in statistics.  In addition a CHA Survey tool was created to assist counties with collecting primary data.  Questions related Quality of Life, unhealthy behaviors, community issues, and personal health are included in the survey.  The Guidebook is the foundation for training on conducting a comprehensive community assessment.  All other trainings, workshops, and seminars provided on community assessment compliment the Guidebook.