IV. PURPOSE OF THE ASSESSMENT
Our assessment aimed to use a community-based participatory research model in order to ascertain the community’s definition of health, to learn about perceptions of the Site B Day Hospital, and to identify education and prevention resources. In carrying out our investigation, we spoke with community members, hospital staff, and various NGOs in Site B.
We posed the following questions:
- What are the community’s conceptions of health?
- What is the community’s perception of the status of health in Site B?
- What health resources does the community identify, and how effective are those resources?
- Where does the community go for health information, and what information does it receive?
- What preventative health measures does the community take?
We sought an understanding of the community definition of health in order to establish the context in which we framed our more specific health-related questions. Establishing the community’s perception of its health status is critical in shaping critical important its collective ability to more effectively and appropriately address health needs and challenges.
We intend for this research to be used in improving health conditions and expanding resources in Site B. Identifying resources and their perceived effectiveness is an important prerequisite to progress. Because of the overwhelming focus on primary care in the community, we also chose to examine existing preventative practices—identifying concerns and resources that may have been overlooked in the preliminary stage of our study. Questions regarding health information were also integral to our exploration of preventative care—health problems cannot be prevented without a comprehensive