I need a response to this discussion: Community health assessments are important for health professionals to be able to identify health issues and needs within specific communities. The model presents a systematic and comprehensive structure to obtain data and analyze the data to expose flaws and where improvements can be made to help those specific members of the community that may be struggling. Data can show weaknesses as well as strengths, which increases the knowledge of public health, improve upon the weaknesses found, and set benchmarks. Many different agencies and organizations can conduct their own health assessments, for example local and state health departments. There are also specific agencies related to certain health issues. By using assessment models and tools, a logical order can be maintained that include decision-making and actions. Local and state health departments and agencies such as the CDC should have a huge part of a community assessment. There are many resources within these organizations and local and state health departments should be made aware of any potential issues and findings. The assessment will take time; there must be an objective, the objective needs to be researched and thorough data collection must take place. Interviewing community members and organizations will take time. Then, analyzing the data collection and creating a plan to help develop better processes and improve the outcome. A larger community will take longer than a smaller community, so the population and resources available need to be considered when creating a timeline. The timeline should be realistic and not be rushed, unless absolutely necessary because of a critical issue. The role of the public health nurse is to assist in the process of the assessment. Think of it as following the Nursing Process. Public Health Nurses are in the community, assessing the community daily and seeing where deficiencies or weaknesses are. They can help determine these issues and help find solutions for the members of the community. They can also assist in gathering the data, interview people, and evaluate the health of the people within the community. Lastly, public health nurses can get people from the community involved in the process to implement change and help support. It is important to evaluate the health of the community and adjust and improve when needed. References Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (.). Assessment and planning models, frameworks, and tools. Connecticut Hospital Association. (March 2013). Guidelines for conducting a community health needs. . Department of Health and Human Services. (.). Planned approach to community health. Guide for local coordinator. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
