Community and Population Needs, Research Paper Example

Meeting the needs of a certain population can be achieved through several strategies. As an initial step, assessment of needs is essential to in order to develop policies and interventions to tackle the identified needs. Assessment can also aid in identifying health disparities and populations that are at-risk. From this step, there is expectedly greater need for establishing strong and positive community relations. Communication forms that vital link in establishing and maintaining connection to the community and building a favorable relationship necessary to project a good image for the agency or the organization. This is also crucial in establishing trust and in identifying and addressing the concerns of the community. Another strategy to ensure that the needs of the population are met is through continuous evaluation of current practices or interventions. In fact, process evaluation provides insight on which interventions work thus equating to positive implications both in the field of research and in practice as well. In addition, process evaluation also makes use of both qualitative and quantitative methods (National Institutes of Health, 2001), thus accounting for its rise in usage. On a similar note, formative evaluation ensures that the interventions developed within the study are in accordance with the needs of the general public or the community. It also serves to identify the reason for the decisions made or any actions that were taken (Earle et al., 2007).

Community involvement is a critical aspect in determining services as they are the major drivers behind the provision of these services. There is a need to work with the community in order to determine common goals and identify priorities. Clear and open dialogue with community members and key leaders is vital as dialoguing enables communities to voice their opinions about issues affecting them and allows organizations more avenues to explore in terms of finding a solution and collaborating with the community to achieve goals.

References

Earle, S. et al. (2007) Theory and Research in Promoting Public Health. SAGE Publications Ltd.

Meads, G. et al (2005). The case for interprofessional collaboration in health and social care. Wiley-Blackwell.

National Institutes of Health (2001). Qualitative Methods in Health Research: Opportunities and Considerations in Application and Review. Washington, D.C.: National Institutes of Health. Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research