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Gather Community Input About Health Needs

Community input can be gathered through focus groups, surveys, meetings and interviews to integrate the community’s thoughts and perspectives into your community health work.

Click on an item below for details:

Step 1: Identify Community Input Sources

Consider speaking with the following people:

  • Health Department Director/Officer
  • Leaders of community-based organizations
  • Teachers, principals, superintendents
  • Clergy
  • Hospital Staff (Executives, Doctors, Nurses, Administrators)
  • FQHC Staff
  • Members of vulnerable populations or those that can speak on their behalf

Important Note for Hospitals:
The IRS requires that community input is taken into consideration from at least one representative of the state, regional or local health department; members of medically underserved, low-income and minority populations (or people that can speak on their behalf); and written comments from the previous CHNA.

Step 2: Choose Community Input Method

Here are four commonly used techniques for gathering community input (adapted from the University of Kansas Community Toolbox)

Before you start, make sure you have a clear goal for the type of community input and content you are seeking to obtain. For example you may be looking to:

  • Identify data information gaps
  • Understand the community's perceived significance of identified health needs
  • Expand knowledge and gain insights on data findings
  • Identify barriers to receiving care
  • Identify resources in the community

Having a firm understanding of your end goal will help you determine a community input gathering method that's most appropriate.

INTERVIEWS

An interview is an in-depth conversation between an interviewer and someone with knowledge of the topic. Interviews can be time intensive to conduct but can provide details and context to a topic that may be otherwise difficult to obtain. Interviews can be both structured (a defined set of questions) or unstructured (a fluid conversation).

  • Pros: Detailed results - often times unexpected answers, inexpensive, choose who you want to speak with
  • Cons: Good interviewing skills take practice, can be time consuming if choose to do many interviews
  • Learn More

FOCUS GROUPS

A focus group is a structured small-group discussion around a given topic. A trained facilitator leads participants through an open-ended discussion where people voice their opinions and are able to react to other people’s opinions.

  • Pros: Yields many perspectives and opinions in a short amount of time
  • Cons: Need a moderator with focus group experience
  • Learn More

SURVEYS

A survey is a quick and efficient way of gathering information from a large number of people. Creating online surveys are often free (we suggest Survey Monkey) and if desired can be statistically significant.

  • Pros: Inexpensive, large number of people can give input, easy to distribute
  • Cons: Results may only represent people who answer survey, low survey response rate
  • Learn More

PUBLIC FORUMS

Public forums are well-publicized meetings where a facilitator leads a discussion around topics such as health issues and strategies to address them. Open to everyone, public forums allow people of diverse backgrounds to share their opinions.

  • Pros: Attract diverse people; large number of people can give input
  • Cons: Can be expensive (staff time), interviewer bias
  • Learn More

Quick Tip: No single community input tool is the best.  Pick the ones that make sense for your organization, skill set, and the results you want to achieve. Don't forget you can also choose a combination of community input tools, for example, conduct 5 interviews and a public forum.

Tips for the Final Report

  • Include when, where, and how the community input was obtained and analyzed.
  • Identify the names of the organizations that provided input into the CHNA and summarize the nature and extent of that input.
  • Make sure to describe the medically underserved, low-income, or minority populations being represented by the individual or organization providing input.
  • In the event a hospital solicits but cannot obtain input from a source described in Step 1, the CHNA report must describe the hospital's efforts to solicit input from such sources.

See an Example: Reid Health 2016 Community Health Needs Assessment

From the IRS

The IRS requires that community input must be taken into consideration for prioritizing significant health needs from the following three groups: a) at least one representative of a state, regional or local governmental health department with knowledge of the health needs of the community; b) members of medically underserved, low-income, and minority populations in the community served by the hospital facility, or individuals or organizations serving or representing the interests of such populations; and c) written comments received on the hospital facility's most recently conducted CHNA and most recently adopted implementation strategy.

IRS Community Health Needs Assessment Rule 12/31/14

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