HLTH-5205-1/HLTH-6205-1/HLTH-8205E Assessing Community Needs-Summer 2024
Week 1 Discussion
ASSESSING COMMUNITY NEEDS
This Discussion will be available from Day 1 through Day 7 of this week. You are required to submit your initial post by Day 3. You are encouraged to post early. Once you have submitted your initial post, start responding to your colleagues. You must begin responding to your colleagues by no later than Day 5 and should continue to interact frequently with your colleagues through Day 7. Part of what makes a discussion a discussion and not a lecture is the back and forth, in-depth, animated interaction of at least two people.
If you start a topic and find that none of your peers are responding to your post, consider what you can do to get the conversation going. Include something that would elicit further thoughts and different opinions from peers. Validate your opinions with references and links to the sources you used so that your peers can read them for themselves. See the Discussion Rubric for specific grading requirements.
Communities are unique in terms of their needs, culture, social structure, and even assets. They are built on an intricate design of race, ethnicity, barriers and strengths, history and conflict. When assessing a community's unique needs, a health educator must identify the particular health issues for this community. Such an assessment can also help you empower members of that community to learn how to address their own needs and create positive health changes. Overall, a community health needs assessment allows you, as a health educator, to understand the health issues of the community in a deeper and more meaningful way.
For this Discussion, read this week's resources and watch the video. Then, consider the community in the video. Consider the various health-related factors affecting the community.
RESOURCES
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
WEEKLY RESOURCE
BY DAY 3
Review the videos in the Learning Resources to learn more about the process and goals associated with a community needs assessment. Then, locate a community needs assessment conducted in your area (e.g. county or region). Post an explanation of two to three health issues that were identified by analyzing the results of the community health needs assessment. What did the assessment team or organization learn about these health issues and how they impact the residents in your community? Also, explain how you as a health educator would address at least one of these issues.
BY DAY 5
Remember to begin interacting with your colleagues in the Discussion and continue engaging through Day 7 by reviewing your colleagues' postings and explaining challenges the health educator might face when conducting a needs assessment. Explain how these challenges could affect the community health needs assessment process. Provide a recommendation for addressing these identified challenges.
Support your work with specific citations from this week's Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources as appropriate.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.
HLTH-5205-1/HLTH-6205-1/HLTH-8205E Assessing Community Needs-Summer 2024
Week 2 Discussion
ASSESSING COMMUNITY CAPACITY
This Discussion will be available from Day 1 through Day 7 of this week. You are required to submit your initial post by Day 3. You are encouraged to post early. Once you have submitted your initial post, start responding to your colleagues. You must begin responding to your colleagues by no later than Day 5 and should continue to interact frequently with your colleagues through Day 7. Part of what makes a discussion a discussion and not a lecture is the back and forth, in-depth, animated interaction of at least two people.
If you start a topic and find that none of your peers are responding to your post, consider what you can do to get the conversation going. Include something that would elicit further thoughts and different opinions from peers. Validate your opinions with references and links to the sources you used so that your peers can read them for themselves. See your Discussion Rubric for specific grading requirements.
Community resources are an inherent part of capacity building. Identifying and analyzing the types of resources within a community provides you, as a health educator, a unique insight toward community health and well-being. These activities also help you determine what resources a community may be lacking, as well as identify ways to obtain these missing and needed resources. For this Discussion, select a health issue in your community or in a community with which you are familiar.
RESOURCES
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
WEEKLY RESOURCE
BY DAY 3
By Day 3 Post the health issue you selected and an explanation of your selected community's strengths and weaknesses in alleviating this health issue. Explain how you would address at least one of the weaknesses. Also, explain the resources available or lacking to improve the health issue.
BY DAY 5
Remember to begin interacting with your colleagues in the Discussion and continue engaging through Day 7 by providing additional ways a health educator could address the weakness your colleague has identified. Suggest additional resources to improve the health issue. Also, suggest how you would obtain the resources that your colleague's selected community is lacking.
Support your work with specific citations from this week's Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources as appropriate.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.
HLTH-5205-1/HLTH-6205-1/HLTH-8205E Assessing Community Needs-Summer 2024
Week 4 Discussion
UTILIZING SECONDARY DATA COLLECTION METHODS
This Discussion will be available from Day 1 through Day 7 of this week. You are required to submit your initial post by Day 3. You are encouraged to post early. Once you have submitted your initial post, start responding to your colleagues. You must begin responding to your colleagues by no later than Day 5 and should continue to interact frequently with your colleagues through Day 7. Part of what makes a discussion a discussion and not a lecture is the back and forth, in-depth, animated interaction of at least two people.
If you start a topic and find that none of your peers are responding to your post, consider what you can do to get the conversation going. Include something that would elicit further thoughts and different opinions from peers. Validate your opinions with references and links to the sources you used so that your peers can read them for themselves. See your Discussion Rubric for specific grading requirements.
Secondary data collection allows you, as a health educator, to analyze data that have previously been collected. Thus, it alleviates the process of developing data collection tools and collecting data. In addition, you can also utilize secondary data to complement primary data. Secondary data collection is also less expensive and less time-consuming than primary data collection. As a health educator, you will often have to depend on secondary data for community health needs assessments. Therefore, it is important for you to understand how to use and interpret secondary data.
For this Discussion, your Instructor will provide two articles and you will select the one that interests you the most.
RESOURCES
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
WEEKLY RESOURCE
BY DAY 3
Post a summary analysis of the article’s findings you selected.
What did the author/s analyze? What were the major findings presented?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using secondary data to collect information?
Provide an example of another secondary data base you have used in the past or would like to use in the future. Discuss why you selected this data base and the information it would provide a health educator. Provide the link if possible.
BY DAY 5
Remember to begin interacting with your colleagues in the Discussion and continue engaging through Day 7 by critiquing your colleagues' responses and explaining the strengths and weaknesses of the data collection methods they chose.
Support your work with specific citations from this week's Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources as appropriate.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.
HLTH-5205-1/HLTH-6205-1/HLTH-8205E Assessing Community Needs-Summer 2024
Week 5 Discussion
UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF QUALITATIVE DATA METHODS IN COMMUNITY HEALTH NEEDS ASSESSMENT
This Discussion will be available from Day 1 through Day 7 of this week. You are required to submit your initial post by Day 3. You are encouraged to post early. Once you have submitted your initial post, start responding to your colleagues. You must begin responding to your colleagues by no later than Day 5 and should continue to interact frequently with your colleagues through Day 7. Part of what makes a discussion a discussion and not a lecture is the back and forth, in-depth, animated interaction of at least two people.
If you start a topic and find that none of your peers are responding to your post, consider what you can do to get the conversation going. Include something that would elicit further thoughts and different opinions from peers. Validate your opinions with references and links to the sources you used so that your peers can read them for themselves. See your Discussion Rubric for specific grading requirements.
Qualitative data collection methods are utilized primarily to gain information that cannot necessarily or easily be translated into numbers. You, as a health educator, will use qualitative data collection methods to gather information around the feelings, actions, perceptions, and history of the community regarding the current environment and health issues. You collect these pieces of information knowing that the data is subjective. However, it is the opinion of the community and therefore is relevant.
For this Discussion, consider your own community or a community you are familiar with. Referencing this week's readings, and the video Harnessing Qualitative Data to Advance Health Equity, identify the different methods of qualitative data collection that can be used in a community health needs assessment. Consider the importance of understanding your selected community's health issues to determine which qualitative data collection methods are most relevant. Select a qualitative data collection method to use for collecting information on these health issues in your selected community.
RESOURCES
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
WEEKLY RESOURCE
BY DAY 3
Post a description of the qualitative method of data collection you selected. Explain why it would be a good match for obtaining the information you need. Also, describe known health disparities in the community and discuss how qualitative data could help address the disparities through the vehicle of health equity. What are the advantages of using qualitative data collection methods to help address health equity issues as part of a community health needs assessment?
BY DAY 5
Remember to begin interacting with your colleagues in the Discussion and continue engaging through Day 7 by responding to one or more colleagues whose data collection method is different from the one you chose. Provide additional strengths and weaknesses of that particular method. Also, expand on the colleague's posting with additional insight and resources.
Support your work with specific citations from this week's Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources as appropriate.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.
HLTH-5205-1/HLTH-6205-1/HLTH-8205E Assessing Community Needs-Summer 2024
Week 6 Discussion
DATA COLLECTION FOR A COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT
This Discussion will be available from Day 1 through Day 7 of this week. You are required to submit your initial post by Day 3. You are encouraged to post early. Once you have submitted your initial post, start responding to your colleagues. You must begin responding to your colleagues by no later than Day 5 and should continue to interact frequently with your colleagues through Day 7. Part of what makes a discussion a discussion and not a lecture is the back and forth, in-depth, animated interaction of at least two people.
If you start a topic and find that none of your peers are responding to your post, consider what you can do to get the conversation going. Include something that would elicit further thoughts and different opinions from peers. Validate your opinions with references and links to the sources you used so that your peers can read them for themselves. See your Discussion Rubric for specific grading requirements.
As a health educator, you can be faced with inherent challenges and concerns in the data analysis process. For example, survey questions must be formed using clear language that the target population can understand. Any data collection methods, such as focus groups or key informant interviews, must maintain consistent question format and unbiased prompts from the researcher. If a target population stems from a wide variety of educational backgrounds or language proficiencies, it is imperative that the researcher is mindful about translating the information accurately while maintaining the efficacy of the words so that they do not lose meaning. Ensuring the reliability and consistency of data collection necessitates training data collectors systematically and with precision (Anderson & Patel, 2021).
Reference:
Anderson, J., & Patel, R. (2021). Enhancing data collection reliability through focused and methodical training. Journal of Data Collection, 15(3), 45-57.
For this Discussion, read this week's resources. Then, consider the steps to be taken to analyze health assessment data for a community.
RESOURCES
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
WEEKLY RESOURCE
BY DAY 3
Post an explanation of one or two challenges that may occur during the process of analyzing a community's health assessment data. Explain how these challenges can affect the process and results of data analysis. Also, explain how such challenges may vary depending on the audience who receives the analysis results.
BY DAY 5
Remember to begin interacting with your colleagues in the Discussion and continue engaging through Day 7 by responding to one or more colleagues about how to address the challenges posted by them.
Support your work with specific citations from this week's Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources as appropriate.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.
HLTH-5205-1/HLTH-6205-1/HLTH-8205E Assessing Community Needs-Summer 2024
Week 7 Discussion
UNDERSTANDING PRIORITY HEALTH ISSUES WITHIN THE COMMUNITY
This Discussion will be available from Day 1 through Day 7 of this week. You are required to submit your initial post by Day 3. You are encouraged to post early. Once you have submitted your initial post, start responding to your colleagues. You must begin responding to your colleagues by no later than Day 5 and should continue to interact frequently with your colleagues through Day 7. Part of what makes a discussion a discussion and not a lecture is the back and forth, in-depth, animated interaction of at least two people.
If you start a topic and find that none of your peers are responding to your post, consider what you can do to get the conversation going. Include something that would elicit further thoughts and different opinions from peers. Validate your opinions with references and links to the sources you used so that your peers can read them for themselves. See your Discussion Rubric for specific grading requirements.
Identifying priority health issues involves striking a delicate balance between perceptions the community itself has of its needs and the needs that are identified through the community health assessment. Health educators can use Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) principles to include the community as an integral part of assessing needs and prioritizing action. When the community is included in the process of identifying needs, assets, and opportunities, community members can gain control of their environment, behaviors, and perceptions that they can use to change their lifestyles. This brings about a sense of dedication to long-lasting health changes that the community will effectively maintain. Using CBPR principles when working to identify priority health issues allows health educators to hear directly from those who are most affected by the conditions intervention aims to resolve.
For this Discussion, refer to the video by Amos Health and Hope and articles on CBPR from this week's resources. Respond to the following.
What are the advantages of using a CBPR approach in the Community Health Needs Assessment process?
Discuss three strategies health educators can use to effectively involve the community when completing the health needs assessment.
Think of a health issue in your community. With which community organization would you partner to leverage the CBPR process? Explain why partnering with this organization could be beneficial and the general benefits of collaboration within CBPR.
RESOURCES
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
WEEKLY RESOURCE
BY DAY 3
Refer to the video by Amos Health and Hope and articles on CBPR from this week's resources.
What are the advantages of using a CBPR approach in the Community Health Needs Assessment process?
Discuss three strategies health educators can use to effectively involve the community when completing the health needs assessment.
Think of a health issue in your community. With which community organization would you partner to leverage the CBPR process? Explain why partnering with this organization could be beneficial and the general benefits of collaboration within CBPR.
BY DAY 5
Remember to begin interacting with your colleagues in the Discussion and continue engaging through Day 7 by supporting or critiquing the rationale of your colleague's selections.
Support your work with specific citations from this week's Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources as appropriate.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.
HLTH-5205-1/HLTH-6205-1/HLTH-8205E Assessing Community Needs-Summer 2024
Week 9 Discussion
MOBILIZING COMMUNITIES AND SUPPORTING ENGAGEMENT THROUGH COALITION BUILDING
This Discussion will be available from Day 1 through Day 7 of this week. You are required to submit your initial post by Day 3. You are encouraged to post early. Once you have submitted your initial post, start responding to your colleagues. You must begin responding to your colleagues by no later than Day 5 and should continue to interact frequently with your colleagues through Day 7. Part of what makes a discussion a discussion and not a lecture is the back and forth, in-depth, animated interaction of at least two people.
If you start a topic and find that none of your peers are responding to your post, consider what you can do to get the conversation going. Include something that would elicit further thoughts and different opinions from peers. Validate your opinions with references and links to the sources you used so that your peers can read them for themselves. See your Discussion Rubric for specific grading requirements.
Community mobilization, a key strategy for increasing the demand for and use of health services, helps communities identify their own needs and respond to and address them. Gaining the participation of community members can help you, the health educator, raise awareness of both health issues at the community level and social and cultural issues that may promote or inhibit the use of information and services. A key strategy to promote community engagement is coalition building. A coalition is a group of individuals or professionals in a community that agrees to work toward a common cause and goal (University of Kansas, n.d.). Using this strategy as a process for community engagement can lead to increased leverage and visibility with community outreach, better use of resources, improved communication between relevant groups, and meaningful social change (University of Kansas, n.d.).
For this Discussion, select your own community or a community with which you are familiar. Choose a health topic that is an emerging issue in the community. Consider how you could organize a coalition around this topic to improve health outcomes in the long-term.
RESOURCES
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
WEEKLY RESOURCE
BY DAY 3
Briefly describe the health issue you chose and explain how it impacts your community. Then, identify five individual entities that would make up your coalition for the health issue chosen (this could be individuals or professionals, businesses, non-profit organizations, civic leaders etc...) For each entity, describe who they are, what their mission or contribution is, and why you chose them. Explain how each entity could contribute to community engagement throughout the Community Health Needs Assessment. Be sure to express the overarching goal and intent of the coalition. Also, describe three challenges that are common to coalition building and how you would aim to overcome them.
BY DAY 5
Remember to begin interacting with your colleagues in the Discussion and continue engaging through Day 7 by asking questions on your colleague's post or providing additional/alternative strategies for engaging people in your colleague's chosen community.
Support your work with specific citations from this week's Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources as appropriate.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.
HLTH-5205-1/HLTH-6205-1/HLTH-8205E Assessing Community Needs-Summer 2024
Week 10 Discussion
COMMUNITY ACTION PLANS–APPLYING THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT
This Discussion will be available from Day 1 through Day 7 of this week. You are required to submit your initial post by Day 3. You are encouraged to post early. Once you have submitted your initial post, start responding to your colleagues. You must begin responding to your colleagues by no later than Day 5 and should continue to interact frequently with your colleagues through Day 7. Part of what makes a discussion a discussion and not a lecture is the back and forth, in-depth, animated interaction of at least two people.
If you start a topic and find that none of your peers are responding to your post, consider what you can do to get the conversation going. Include something that would elicit further thoughts and different opinions from peers. Validate your opinions with references and links to the sources you used so that your peers can read them for themselves. See your Discussion Rubric for specific grading requirements.
In this week's resources, you have learned the critical importance of a comprehensive needs assessment. You have also read about how priorities presented in a community action plan should stimulate discussions around strengthening a health educator's relationship with the community for which it is designated to serve. Strategic planning is crucial for crafting an array of programs and services. Through meticulous planning, tailored health education initiatives can be developed, leading to impactful and outcome-driven programs designed to meet community needs effectively.
For this Discussion, your instructor will assign you one of two action plans: A or B.
Each group will read the summaries for the following action plans:
Group A: Louisiana Injury Prevention Strategic Action Plan (PDF)Links to an external site.
Group B: Vermont Action Plan for Alzheimer's Disease (PDF)Links to an external site.
RESOURCES
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
WEEKLY RESOURCE
BY DAY 3
Post an explanation of the strengths and weaknesses of the action plan you have been assigned to. Explain modifications you would make to this action plan based on what you have learned in this course. Justify your rationale for these modifications.
BY DAY 5
Remember to begin interaction with your colleagues in the Discussion and continue engaging through Day 7 by responding to one or more colleagues who analyzed the other action plans. Explain additional strength or weakness in the action plans of those colleagues.
Support your work with specific citations from this week's Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources as appropriate.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.
HLTH-5205-1/HLTH-6205-1/HLTH-8205E Assessing Community Needs-Summer 2024
Week 11 Discussion
HEALTH EFFECTS ON THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
This Discussion will be available from Day 1 through Day 7 of this week. You are required to submit your initial post by Day 3. You are encouraged to post early. Once you have submitted your initial post, start responding to your colleagues. You must begin responding to your colleagues by no later than Day 5 and should continue to interact frequently with your colleagues through Day 7. Part of what makes a discussion a discussion and not a lecture is the back and forth, in-depth, animated interaction of at least two people.
If you start a topic and find that none of your peers are responding to your post, consider what you can do to get the conversation going. Include something that would elicit further thoughts and different opinions from peers. Validate your opinions with references and links to the sources you used so that your peers can read them for themselves. See your Discussion Rubric for specific grading requirements.
In this week's readings, you are learning how policy, systems, and environmental change approaches are promising and essential to addressing health inequities; however, to be optimally effective, such changes also require strategic actions to reduce or eliminate any barriers populations experiencing health disparities face. Strategic actions can also help to avoid any negative unintended consequences of such changes.
"The neighborhoods people live in have a major impact on their health and well-being." Healthy People 2030 focuses on improving health and safety in the places where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age.
Many people in the United States live in neighborhoods with high rates of violence, unsafe air or water, and other health and safety risks. Racial/ethnic minorities and people with low incomes are more likely to live in places with these risks. In addition, some people are exposed to things at work that can harm their health, like secondhand smoke or loud noises.” (United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2020).
To encourage healthy community design, health educators can learn how to collaborate across multiple disciplines such as transportation, urban planning, architecture, and public health law. These interactions aid in the development of guidelines, support pilot projects, and educate current and future planners and public health professionals about designing healthier communities.
For this Discussion, consider the community in which you live.
RESOURCES
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
WEEKLY RESOURCE
BY DAY 3
Address the following:
Evaluate the built environment of your community and post an example of and explain how your built environment affects your health (positively or negatively).
Provide recommendations of what could be added or removed from your built environment to enhance or improve your health or the health of the community.
Explain how healthy community design helps address the Social Determinants of Health.
BY DAY 5
Remember to begin interacting with your colleagues in the Discussion and continue engaging through Day 7 by responding to one or more colleagues by providing an additional recommendation and/or policy that could enhance or improve your colleague's built environment.
Support your work with specific citations from this week's Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources as appropriate.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.
