Community Health Assessment Tool: A Patterns Approach to Data Collection and Diagnosis

Purpose: Service providers must identify and assess older adults who have concurrent vision and hearing loss, or dual sensory impairment (DSI). An assessment tool suitable for this purpose is the interRAI Community Health Assessment (CHA) and its Deafblind Supplement. This study's goal was to explore this assessment's administration process and to generate suggestions for assessors to help them optimize data collection.Methods: A social worker with experience working with adults who have sensory loss, who was also naïve to the interRAI CHA, administered the assessment with 200 older adults (65+) who had visual and/or hearing loss. The assessor evaluated the utility of the instrument for clinical purposes, focusing on sections relevant to identifying/characterizing adults with DSI.Results: Suggestions include the recommendation to ask additional questions regarding the person's functional abilities. This will help assessors deepen their understanding of the person's sensory status. Recommendations are also provided regarding sensory impairments and rehabilitation, in a general sense, to help assessors administer the interRAI CHA.Conclusions: Suggestions will help assessors to deepen their knowledge about sensory loss and comprehensively understand the assessment's questions, thereby allowing them to optimize the assessment process and increase their awareness of sensory loss in older adults.

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VISTA/PH Software for Community Health Assessment

Journal of Public Health Management and Practice ◽

10.1097/00124784-199903000-00030 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 60-63 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

David Solet ◽

James R. Allen ◽

Claire Talltree ◽

James W. Krieger

Keyword(s):

Community Health ◽

Health Assessment ◽

Community Health Assessment

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Modeling the Principles of Community-Based Participatory Research in a Community Health Assessment Conducted by a Health Foundation

Health Promotion Practice ◽

10.1177/1524839906294419 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 67-75 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Karen Jaynes Williams ◽

Patricia Gail Bray ◽

Carrie K. Shapiro-Mendoza ◽

Ilana Reisz ◽

Jane Peranteau

Keyword(s):

Community Health ◽

Participatory Research ◽

Health Assessment ◽

Community Based Participatory Research ◽

Local Area ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Assessment Model ◽

Community Based ◽

Community Health Assessment ◽

Practical Applications

The authors discuss strategies used and lessons learned by a health foundation during development of a community health assessment model incorporating community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches. The assessment model comprises three models incorporating increasing amounts of CPBR principles. Model A combines local-area analysis of quantitative data, qualitative information (key informants, focus groups), and asset mapping. Model B, a community-based participatory model, emphasizes participatory rural appraisal approaches and quantitative assessment using rapid epidemiological assessment. Model C, a modified version of Model B, is financially more sustainable for our needs than Model B. The authors (a) describe origins of these models and illustrate practical applications and (b) explore the lessons learned in their transition from a traditional, nonparticipatory, quantitative approach to participatory approaches to community-health assessment. It is hoped that this article will contribute to the growing body of knowledge of practical aspects of incorporating CBPR approaches into community health assessments.

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