Community Themes

As a health educator, you can be faced with inherent challenges and concerns in the data analysis process.

For example, survey questions must be formed using clear language that the target population can understand. Any data collection methods, such as focus groups or key informant interviews, must maintain consistent question format and unbiased prompts from the researcher. If a target population stems from a wide variety of educational backgrounds or language proficiencies, it is imperative that the researcher is mindful about translating the information accurately while maintaining the efficacy of the words so that they do not lose meaning. Finally, data collectors must be trained in a focused and methodical manner to ensure reliable and consistent data collection (Shea et al, 2012).

For this Discussion, read this week’s resources. Then, consider the steps to be taken to analyze health assessment data for a community.

BY DAY 3

Post an explanation of one or two challenges that may occur during the process of analyzing a community’s health assessment data. Explain how these challenges can affect the process and results of data analysis. Also, explain how such challenges may vary depending on the audience who receives the analysis results.Support your work with specific citations from this week’s Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources as appropriate

Gilmore, G. D. (2012). Needs and capacity assessment strategies for health education and promotion (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

• Chapter 3, “Single-Step Surveys”(pp. 78–79)
  (You read this chapter in Week 3.)
• Chapter 4, “Multistep Surveys: The Delphi Technique”(p. 87)
• Chapter 5, “Interviewing” (pp. 101–102)
  (You read this chapter in Week 5.)
• Chapter 7, “Group Participation Process: Focus Group” (pp. 124–125)
  (You read this chapter in Week 5.)

U.S. National Library of Medicine. (n.d.). Health disparities.

Marion County Health Department (n.d.) Housing and neighborhood health.

The Brookings Institute. (2017). Building healthy neigborhoods.

National Association of County & City Health Officials. (2014). Community themes and strengths assessment (CSTA).

REQUIRED MEDIA

Laureate Education (Producer). (2014). Assessing community needs for health education: Data collection [Video podcast]. Baltimore, MD: Author.