1. Community Assessment and
Planning: A Page from the
Cookbook for Health Equity
Tami Gouveia, Massachusetts Healthy Communities System
Aleya Martin, Greater Boston Center for Healthy Communities
Pat Milano, East Boston Neighborhood Against Substance Abuse
Presented June 21, 2011
Healthy Communities Conference

2. Objectives
• Describe how health equity principles are
interwoven throughout a community-based
assessment and strategic planning process.
• Identify models that place health disparities
central in the assessment and planning process.
• Apply assessment and planning tools that engage
community members in the process.
• Describe the planning activities (data collection
and small group projects) deployed by a
neighborhood coalition.

3. Health Equity
• Human right to health – achieve one’s life plans
• Goes beyond health care and health access
• Address systemic economic, social, and political
inequities
• Goes beyond addressing health inequality in one
area, but looking at the system as a whole
• Within and across nations
World Health Organization
http://www.who.int/healthsystems/topics/equity/en

4. Health Equity
Preliminary data for 2008. See Arialdi, M. Miniño, Xu Jiaquan and Kochanek,
Kenneth D. “Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2008”. National Vital Statistics Reports,
Vol. 59, No. 2, Dec. 9, 2010, i + 71 pp.

5. Life Expectancy At Birth
80
70
60
Life Expectancy (Age)
50
40
Black Man
30 White Man
20
10
0
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
Year
1900-2000: Changes in Life Expectancy in the United States.
http://elderweb.com/node/2838

6. What is Strategic Planning?
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7. What is Strategic Planning
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8. Why Plan?
Strategic Prevention Framework: SAMHSA

9. Why Plan?
• Ensures that your efforts meet needs of the
community and build on strengths
• Helps allocate resources effectively and
efficiently
• Helps group stay focused on efforts to achieve
success (avoid getting sidetracked)
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10. Why Plan?
• Helps group articulate its work
• Helps group engage new partners
• Supports group in evaluating its efforts
• Supports group in obtaining funding
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11. Why Plan?

12. Structure of Strategic Planning
• Plan out your strategic planning process
• Identify chair/co-chairs to lead 8-12 people
who will lead the process
• Include multiple stakeholders from diverse
perspectives, linguistic/cultural groups, socio-
demographics, etc.
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13. Components of Strategic Planning
• VMOSA
– Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategies, Activities
• Theory of Change/Logic model
• Strategic plan
• Action plan
• Evaluation Plan
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14. VMOSA-E
• Vision
– The dream
• Mission
– The what & why
• Objectives
– How much of what accomplished and by when
– SMART: Specific, Measureable, Achievable,
Realistic, Timebound
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15. VMOSA-E
• Strategies/Strategic Plan
– The how
• Action plan
– What change will happen;
– Who will do what by when to make it happen
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16. Why Action Planning?
“A picture of important
destinations [that] guides
you on what to look for
on the journey to ensure you are on the right
pathway”
- Annie E. Casey Foundation
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17. Theory of Change/Logic Model
“If you don't
know where you
are going, any
road will take
you there."
But how will you know if you got
there?
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18. VMOSA-E
• Evaluation plan
– Monitor process
– Monitor outcomes
– Share findings
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19. KIS Principle
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20. Needs Assessment Definition
A systematic process of gathering information
about the current conditions of a targeted
area that underlie the “need” for an
intervention.
- Getting to Outcomes, RAND, 2004
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21. Assessment
Needs:
• What is absent or problematic in a community
• Shortcomings
• Things that if you had, would allow you to
make better use of your resources
• Short of a source of supply, support, or
resource
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22. Spin definition on its head
Assets:
• Improve quality of
the community
• Positive experiences
and qualities needed
for health
• A person, place,
entity
• Synergistic

23. Data Triangle
Archival Data
Quantitative Data Qualitative Data
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24. Assessment Types
1. Quantitative
- Survey data
2. Qualitative
- Focus groups, Open Space Technology,
key informant interviews, observations
3. Archival
- Police, hospital, school data
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25. Assessment Levels
• Levels
– Establish baseline
• Trends
– Over time
• Patterns
– By age, gender, race/ethnicity
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26. Prioritize Data into a Statement
• Take into account all data sources
• Take into account perspectives of all
stakeholders
• Determine resources available to address
needs
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27. Health Impact Assessment
• Ensure that health and
health disparities are
considered in decision-
making using an objective
and scientific approach, and
engage stakeholders in the
process.
• Used to determine
intended and unintended
consequences of a policy,
procedure, or program.

28. Health Impact Assessment
• Screening
• Scoping
• Assessment
• Recommendations
• Reporting
• Monitoring

30. Bibliography
• Annie E. Casey Foundation
– www.aecf.org/upload/publicationfiles/cc2977k440.pdf
• Community Toolbox
– ctb.ku.edu
• Alliance for Nonprofit Management
– www.allianceonline.org/FAQ/strategic_planning
• University of Wisconsin – Extension
– www.uwex.edu/ces/pdande/evaluation/evallogicmodel.html
• World Health Organization
– www.worldhealth.int
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31. Bibliography
• Health Equity. www.who.int/healthsystems/topics/equity/en/
• Krueger, Richard A. Focus Groups: A Practical Guide for Applied Research.
Sage Publications, 2000.
• Simon, Judith Sharken. Conducting Successful Focus Groups. Amherst H
Wilder Foundation, 1999.
• Straus, David. How to Make Collaboration work. Berrett-Koehler
Publishers, 2002.
• Conducting Needs Assessment Surveys. Community Tool Box, 2002.
www.ctb.lsi.ukans.edu/tools/en/sub_section_main_1042.htm
• Preliminary data for 2008. See Arialdi, M. Miniño, Xu Jiaquan and
Kochanek, Kenneth D. “Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2008”. National Vital
Statistics Reports, Vol. 59, No. 2, Dec. 9, 2010, i + 71 pp.
• 1900-2000: Changes in Life Expectancy in the United States.
http://elderweb.com/node/2838
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