Office Hours
Please note: There was a technical issue in the recording of this Office Hours session, and the beginning was not recorded. Here are the notes from the pieces that are missing, and you can find a form to access the recording at the bottom of the page.
After introducing the presenters and Health Outreach Partners, the presenters reviewed the key needs Assessment resources that HOP currently has to offer. These include the Community Health Needs Assessment Toolkit, Needs Assessment in Action Profiles, and a Coffee Break Webinar entitled “3 Key Lessons Learned from Conducting Needs Assessments.
Following the introduction of resources, the presenters began to answer questions submitted by participants through the registration form. The first question was “We are a new health administration and we have never conducted a community needs assessment. What do we need to do to start?” Presenters emphasized the importance of setting a clear goal for your needs assessment, and being very intentional and specific when creating it. As the scope and magnitude of your needs assessment grows as you move along, always look to this goal as a “north star” to refer back to and keep your needs assessment focused. Additionally, the presenters recommend forming an advisory team to help guide these big picture items and ensure your needs assessment will provide meaningful findings for your organization.
The second question was “What type of questions capture the needs of the patient the best?” Presenters reminded the audience that not all needs assessments will be asking questions of participants, as some may decide to simply do an analysis of existing data. Though whenever possible, gathering information directly from those most affected by your services is going to provide the most reliable and meaningful data. It is recommended to include those within your organization that have the most knowledge of the community you serve: your outreach team and community health workers. This will help ensure your questions are appropriate and will be understood. Also, it’s a good idea to pilot your tools with your target population and adjust questions based on their feedback.
The recording begins at the end of question #2 and beginning of question #3.
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