A Door-to-Door Needs Assessment to Guide a Community-Campus Health Partnership and Contribute to Community Empowerment

Abstract

A community-campus health partnership was formed in 1999. To determine health partnership priorities, it was collaboratively decided that an assessment of the community's health needs and interests was necessary. This article describes a community-based participatory research project: namely, a door-to-door survey to assess community health needs and interests. The survey was developed and approved by the health partnership's board of directors, consisting of a majority of community residents, and university personnel. The survey was based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, allowing comparison between community residents (97 percent of who were African American) and a national sample of African Americans. Resident interviewers were trained to administer the survey. Data were collected from 301 residents (195 adults and 106 children) from 124 households. A test of binomial proportions was used to compare the study population with a national sample of African Americans. Similarities and differences from that national sample were observed. The data will be used to prioritize health promotion programming, to validate health needs in funding proposals, and to track community health over time. The study's protocol is offered as a community-based participatory research model for communities seeking to acquire health data specific to their jurisdictions.