Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Ways Of Conducting Community Needs Assessment

By Odessa Edwards


Community needs assessment refers to the practice of setting out to find out the areas of deficiency among a group of people, in consideration with basic needs. These studies have become very common among many groups of people. Various groups conduct the practice with various aims.

This activity can be conducted with various aims. It may be conducted as a research by students aiming at finding out about community needs. It may also be conducted by the leadership of a given region so as to plan for equitable supply and distribution of resources. After an earlier assessment an organization may conduct it for purposes of follow ups.

Among the aspects included are the basic needs that human beings need for survival. These may include food, water as well as shelter. Other important facilities such as schools and hospitals may also be inspected to find out how well they are distributed. The number of people of a given age bracket lacking schooling facilities for instance, may influence the type of schools that will be constructed to fill that vacancy.

This practice comes with a lot of advantages. The most common is the provision of the basic needs where deficiencies have been identified. This ensures that people are healthy and also that the mortality rate is lowered as well as reducing susceptibility to diseases, . For those giving the aid, there is usually that feeling of satisfaction of having assisted people in need. The people conducting the studies also gain a lot of experience and knowledge on the challenges facing other people in the society.

Even if the activity is in most cases done for the improvement of the living conditions of people, it may not appeal to all. Some people in the areas under study may feel uncomfortable and intimidated about why the study is being conducted on them. Others may find it uncomfortable and may end up being very hostile to the researchers. This may discourage the researchers who may end up withdrawing their help from the people of such places.

After findings have been assembled, the main activity which is providing remedy commences. This usually requires funds. Large and well established institutions may be able to fund the remedy without seeking help from anywhere. In most cases though, help is sought from the public so as to fully seal the identified gaps.

The activity may also require more people in case the area under study is too large. In these circumstances, people from the public may be contracted at a fee. It also has been very beneficial, especially for those with no jobs.

Community needs assessment has become a very common activity in a number of countries. This is more especially because governments want to ensure that all their citizens reside in conducive surroundings.




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