Community Diagnosis/Community

Organizing Participatory Action Research

Prepared by:
Mrs. A.L. De Ramos LPT. RN.MAN.
Community Diagnosis
 Definition of a
“Community”
A of people with at least one
cluster characteristic (geographic
common occupation, ethnicity,
housing
location,
condition……)
A group of people with a common
characteristic or interest living together
within a larger society.
 Community diagnosis
 is the process of determining the
health status of the community and
the factors responsible for it.
 is applied both to the process of
determination and to its findings
(WHO, 2004).

Mrs. Lina Lontoc De Ramos LPT,. RN. MAN.

 Community diagnosis
• a quantitative and qualitative
description of the health of citizens
and the factors that influence their
health.
• allows identification of problems and
areas of improvement, thereby
stimulating action (WHO, 1994).
Mrs. Lina Lontoc De Ramos LPT,. RN. MAN.
 Community diagnosis
 the health worker makes a judgment about
the community's health status, resources,
and health action potential or the likelihood
that the community will act to meet health
needs or resolve health problems.
 Health promotion and disease prevention
require action on the part of the people
themselves.
Mrs. Lina Lontoc De Ramos LPT,. RN. MAN.
 Community diagnosis
• format proposed by Shuster and
Goeppinger and the Omaha System
for community diagnosis. Shuster and
Goeppinger (2004) proposed a
practical adaptation of a format of
nursing diagnoses for population
groups previously presented by Green
and Slade (2001).
Mrs. Lina Lontoc De Ramos LPT,. RN. MAN.
 Shuster and Goeppinger (2004)

• The health risk or specific problem to

which the community is exposed.
• The specific aggregate or community with
whom the nurse will be working to deal
with the risk or problem.
• Related factors that influence how the
community will respond to the health risk
or problem
Mrs. Lina Lontoc De Ramos LPT,. RN. MAN.
Community diagnosis
The identification and quantification of
health problems in a community as a whole
in terms of mortality and morbidity rates and
ratios, and identification of their correlates
for the purpose of defining those at risk or
those in need of health care.
 Purposes of community
diagnosis:
• Identification and quantification of health
problem
• Identification of those who at risk
• Identific ation of community needs
and problems
• Determine available resources
• Set priorities for planning .
Importance of Community
diagnosis

Mrs. Lina Lontoc De Ramos LPT,. RN. MAN.

Importance of Community
diagnosis

Mrs. Lina Lontoc De Ramos LPT,. RN. MAN.

 Community diagnosis
• is done using a tool called "Health
Indicators" which are the variables used
for the assessment of community health.
• Indicators must be:

valid, reliable, sensitive, specific,

feasible and relevant.

Mrs. Lina Lontoc De Ramos LPT,. RN. MAN.

Health indicators can be classified as:

• Mortality indicators
• Morbidity indicators
• Disability rates
• Nutritional status indicators
• Health care delivery indicators
• Utilization rates
 Health indicators can be classified as:

•Indicators of social and mental health

•Environmental indicators
•Socio-economic indicators
•Health policy indicators
•Indicators of quality of life
•Other indicators
 Community analysis:
• is the process of examining data
to define needs strengths, barriers,
opportunities, readiness, and
resources. The product of analysis is
the “community profile”
 What are the Types of
Community diagnosis
The types of a community diagnosis may
vary according to:
• The objectives or degree of detail or depth
of the assessment
• The resources, and
• The time available for the nurse to conduct
the community diagnosis.
 Types of Community
diagnosis
• Comprehensive Community
Diagnosis- aims to obtain general
information about the community or a
certain population group.
 Types of Community
diagnosis
 Problem-oriented Community Diagnosis
type of assessment that responds to a particular
need (Spradly, 1990)
• Example: a nurse was confronted with health
and medical problem resulting from mine
tailings being disposed into river systems by a
mining company.
ELEMENTS of a comprehensive
community diagnosis

According to the Dones, as cited in Maglaya (2003)

A. Demographic Variable
• should show the size, composition, and geographical
distribution of the population,
B. Socio-economic And Cultural Variables
C. Health And Illness Patterns
D. Health Resources
E. Political /Leadership Patterns
ELEMENTS of a comprehensive
community diagnosis
Steps of community diagnosis
 Characteristics of community
diagnosis

• ability to address important community

problems
• ability to identify most of the targeted health
events
• adequacy in reflecting changes in distribution
of events over time, place and person
 Characteristics of community
diagnosis

• participatory,
• uncomplicated,
• sensitive,
• timely,
• and inexpensive
 Basic Data in community diagnosis
process
1. Background/ Setting

1. Local history

2.Geography – Part of which Region,

Municipality/ City Boundaries whether land
– locked, both – Land area –
coastal
Subdivisions, or
political, economic or
social

1.3 Climate
2. Demography

1.Geographic Age –
sex
distribution structure

2.2(Population
Factors pyramid)
such as: Migration; Age
dependency (18-49 yr); Birth/death rate;
Ethnic dist; Density
3. Economic status

1. Sources of income

2.Indications of economic status:

Employment; Income per capita; Poverty
level; Economic organizations
4. Social Indicators

Education Housing, Communication,

Transportation, Sources of health care
and health information Public
assistance Leadership pattern
Health Data in community diagnosis
process

1. Health Status of the Community

Health Indicators
• Top Mortality
• Top Morbidity
Health Data in community diagnosis
process
2. Environmental Indices
• Water Supply
• Excreta Disposal
• Insect Control
• Sanitation,
• Garbage Collection
3. Food / Nutrition
• Sources of food: Markets/ Public eating
establishments
• Prevalence of Malnutrition

4. Health Resources
• Manpower / Health officer, nutritionist, Nurse, Doctor

• Health facilities

• Health financing: Public funds versus private

funding
• Health related legislations: National; Local
5. Organized Community health
programs
• Expanded program on Immunization

• Maternal and Child health

• Reproductive health

• Nutrition programs
THANK YOU
&
GOD BLESS!