Community Health Assessment in Public Health

1
Community Health Assessment in Public Health

• Christie Spice, MPH
• Washington State Department of Health
• Introduction to Community Health Assessment
• September 19, 2006

2
Definition

• Community health assessment is the work of
  collecting, analyzing, and using data to educate
  and mobilize communities, develop priorities,
  garner resources, and plan actions to improve
  public health.

3
A Core Public Health Activity

• Core functions assessment, policy development,
  assurance
• Essential services
• Monitor health status to identify and solve
  community health problems
• Investigate health problems and hazards in the
  community
• Evaluate effectiveness, accessibility, and
  quality of population-based health services

4
A Standard for Public Health in Washington State

• Standard 1 Community Health Assessment
• Data about community health, environmental
  health risks, health disparities and access to
  critical health services are collected, tracked,
  analyzed, and utilized along with review of
  evidence-based practices to support health
  policy and program decisions.

5
A Standard for Public Health in Washington State

• Standard 8 Program Planning and Evaluation
• Public health programs and activities identify
  specific goals, objectives, and performance
  measures and establish mechanisms for regular
  tracking, reporting, and use of results.

6
Two Key Leadership Questions
7
A Brief History

• 1994 first Public Health Improvement Plan
• Strengthen capacity to perform core functions
• New funds to invest in core function capacity
• 1995-1997 every LHJ had to complete a community
  health assessment (CHA)
• Post-1997 CHA requirement ends, level of
  investment in CHA capacity declines
• 2000 CHA becomes a Standard for Public Health in
  Washington State

8
Assessment in Washington State

• No single model or approach
• A broad set of activities
• Tracking health indicators
• Responding to requests for data
• Investigating community concerns
• Gathering and analyzing data
• Sharing health data with policy makers, community
  members
• Using data to inform public health decisions

9
Summary

• Assessment is an essential function of a
  public health agency . Its about using data to
  make good decisions and wise investments of
  public dollars.
• Torney Smith, Administrator
• Spokane Regional Health District