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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) worked with its partners to develop a set of epidemiologic resources that support Community Health Assessments and Improvement Plans (CHA/I). Sixty-four health officials from 6 organizations (non-profit hospitals, state health departments, local, tribal or territorial health departments, federally qualified health centers, CDC Community Transformation Grant Recipients, non-profit organizations) were surveyed to identify high priority CHA/I training needs. Results from the survey revealed 85% of the respondents reported a “moderate-high need’ for training in developing or identifying valid survey instruments and questions. In response, CDC has developed and tested a community opinion survey grouped by the most frequently recommended health outcomes and determinants based on a population health framework using the Epi Info 7 software.
METHODS:
An environmental scan of pre-tested community opinion surveys used in community health assessments was conducted. A systematic search of Google Scholar, and Google using the terms “community opinion survey”, “community health assessment survey”, and “community health needs assessment survey” was performed. Ninety-eight community opinion surveys were identified from various communities throughout the United States. The final list comprised fourteen pre-tested community opinion surveys. Individual questions were grouped based on a population health framework of the most frequently recommended health outcomes and determinants categories (mortality, morbidity, medical care, personal health behavior, social environment, and physical environment).
RESULTS:
The majority of survey questions for the community opinion survey were collected from “The Healthy Carolinians” template from the North Carolina Public Health Community Health Assessment Guidebook’; Orange County Health Department and Healthy Carolinians of Orange County; and Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System. CDC developed supplemental questions addressing health outcomes, health-related community behaviors, physical, and social environmental health issues of the community. An electronic version of the survey was programmed into Epi Info 7 software and uploaded onto computer tablets.
CONCLUSIONS:
Collecting community opinion survey data that address the most frequently recommended health outcomes and determinants can be used in conjunction with secondary data analyses to enhance the decision-making process of community health prioritizations for stakeholders undertaking Community Health Assessments and Improvement Plans.