Program Planning: Community Nutrition Assessment

1
Program Planning Community Nutrition Assessment

• 1/20/04

2
Program Planning Basics

• Systematic process
• Continual feedback and evaluation
• Cyclical based on increasing understandings of
  the true nature of the situation and the
  effectiveness of interventions.
• Starts with an assessment of the current
  situation

3
Process Evaluation Adjustment
Assessment
Prioritize
Analyze problem and propose model to address
Develop Intervention goals, objectives,
implementation plan
Outcome evaluation
4
Why Do Assessment?
5
Community Nutrition Assessment

• Anchors program/intervention in the reality of
  the community
• Essential part of ongoing process
• Needs assessment
• Designing and implementing services
• Evaluation
• Improving programs and services
• Includes community and stakeholders as fully
  active participants

6
Community Nutrition Assessment

• Based on assets more than deficits
• Helps to integrate nutrition programs into
  community-based health programs and plans

7
Successful Community Assessment Includes

• Understanding current conditions of families and
  individuals
• Evaluating local capacities for supporting health
  and nutrition needs
• Building community support for implementing
  changes

8
Models and Protocols for Community Assessment

• Planned Approaches to Community Health (PATCH)
  CDC
• Assessment Protocol for Excellence in Public
  Health (APEXPH) NACHO (National Association of
  County Health Officials)
• Moving to the Future Developing Community Based
  Nutrition Services ASTPHND (Association of
  State and Territorial Public Health Nutrition
  Directors)

9
Strategic Planning for Initiatives to Address
Local Health Efforts

• Community Assessment
• Organize a community planning group
• Define community boundaries
• Gather information
• Statistical profile
• Qualitative data
• Community Resources

Agency for Health Care Policy and Research
10
Strategic Planning, cont.

• Analyze Information
• Common issues
• High risk individuals
• Unmet needs
• Prioritize
• Develop and implement community health plan
• Monitor and evaluate community health plan

11
Steps to Assessment

• Convene a planning group
• Define community
• Identify Community Assets
• Identify Perceived Needs
• Build Demographic Profile
• Analyze Community Health Status
• Analyze Community Nutrition Status
• Identify Community Resources and Service
  Utilization
• Identify common issues and unmet needs
• Prioritize

12
Community Nutrition Planning Group
Responsibilities

• Collect data and information
• Identify health needs and gaps in service
• Set priorities
• Develop a plan
• Help to implement interventions
• Assist in evaluation
• Of assessment, planning, and intervention process
• Of impact of intervention

13
Community Nutrition Planning Group Potential
Members

• Community leaders
• Consumers
• Health and Nutrition Service providers
• Health organizations
• Schools
• Political office holders or their staff
• Fitness professionals
• Representatives from greater community health
  planning groups

14
Define the Parameters

• Public Health Nutrition Assuring conditions in
  which people can be nutritionally healthy
• Community A community is any group sharing
  something in common

Community Tool Box
15
Community Description

• Geographic boundaries
• General history
• Key people and leaders
• Demographics
• Financial economic information
• Important issues
• Morale and involvement levels
• Key allies and rivals
• Unspoken rules and norms
• Attitudes and opinions
• Strengths and shortcomings

16
Identify Community Assets

• Physical structure, place, business
• Concerned citizens
• History of successful efforts
• Organizations
• Individual and group skills
• Communications systems
• Relationships

17
Identify Perceived Needs

• WHY?
• To understand public opinion
• To become aware of needs the planning group
  doesnt know about
• To gather support expand group expertise
• To make decisions about priorities
• To plan programs in ways that will be acceptable
  to stakeholders

18
How do we assess perceived needs?

• Listening sessions
• Public forums
• Key informant interviews
• Needs assessment survey or survey of concerns

19
Demographic Profile

• Economic status income, employment, below
  poverty
• Education levels
• Age and gender
• Race ethnicity
• Social factors homelessness, immigration
  status, family composition, TANF utilization

20
Community Health Status

• Causes of Mortality
• Hospital discharge data
• Disease prevalence data
• Food bourne illness reports
• Years of potential life lost
• Infant mortality

21
Community Nutritional Status

• Pregnancy related
• weight gain in pregnancy
• Pre-pregnancy weight
• Anemia
• Disease prevalence HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular
  disease, diabetes
• Activity levels (BRFSS)
• Food intake fat, fruits vegetables (BRFSS)
• Dental health
• Food/dieting related behaviors (YRBS)
• Food Security (BRFSS)

22
Community Resources Service Utilization

• What resources are available?
• To what extent are people using them?
• Sources of Information
• Citizens
• Service providers
• Tools
• Existing data
• Interviews
• Surveys

23
Examples of Community Nutrition Resources

• Food assistance programs (WIC, Basic Food, etc.)
• Grocery stores with high quality produce
• Food Service with health promoting food options
• Educational programs
• Media
• Profession and non-profit organizations
• Nutrition counseling

24
Criteria for defining/prioritizing community
problems

• Frequency
• Duration
• Scope or range
• Severity
• Perceptions
• Root causes (but why?) ability to impact root
  causes (effectiveness of interventions)
• Barriers to resolutions
• Political and financial support

25
Group Work Roles

• Assign roles within a breakout group
• Student
• Parent
• Teacher
• School administrator
• Dietitian in School-based health center

26
Group Work Develop Problem List

• Brainstorm nutrition related issues problems
  that arise from these data
• Choose 5 issues that are of interest to all
  stakeholders
• Prioritize these issues using criteria in these
  slides
• Establish the one issue or problem that all
  stakeholders will be comfortable working on for
  the next two weeks