Learning Goals and Objectives
The learning objectives of this week’s placement will include the following. First of all, I am going to practice community health needs assessment. It is necessary to be aware of the existing problems and to be able to satisfy the most urgent needs first. Secondly, it is important to learn how to inform the community about the ideas and ways of public health improvement. Finally, this week will be dedicated to the planning of health interventions.
Week Schedule
Monday: preparation of community health needs assessment (questionnaire creation).
Tuesday: a lecture on public health in the community center.
Wednesday: the study of health interventions.
Thursday: community health needs assessment (using a prepared questionnaire, during the community fair).
Friday: analysis of the questionnaire; health intervention practice.
Placement Issues
On the whole, this week’s placement did not have any special issues. The only thing which disturbed me was the lack of distinct instructions from the staff nurses during the first days of placement. However, it was solved, and starting from Wednesday we received personal tasks.
Objective Description
The major objective of this week’s placement is a community health needs assessment. The knowledge of the particular health needs of the community can be useful for the development of strategies for population health improvement. A study by Pennel, McLeroy, Burdine, Matarrita-Cascante, and Wang claims that community health needs assessment can be used to “address health priorities” and thus provide a positive impact on the general condition of public health (2015, 178). These health priorities can include health system, condition, behavior, and community condition (Pennel et al., 2015). Moreover, such an assessment reveals the peculiar features of community participation in health issues. This information is necessary for the planning of health care strategies implementation.
References
Pennel, C.L., McLeroy, K.R., Burdine, J.N., Matarrita-Cascante, D., and Wang, J. (2015). Community health needs assessment: Potential for population health improvement. Population Health Management, 19(3): 178-186. Web.