title: Assessing the health care needs of a rural community.
abstract: This article describes the methods used to complete a recent community health needs assessment study in a rural area. It illustrates the strategic marketing and management value of conducting this type of assessment by examining selected results from the study and discussing their implications for the local health care delivery system.
authors.affiliation: Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, LA, USA.
authors.forename: E K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: LaFleur
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Sumrall
mesh_terms: D002391:Catchment Area, Health; D018672:Community Health Planning / Q000379:methods; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006752:Hospital Planning / Q000379:methods; D006780:Hospitals, Rural / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007591:Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations; D008389:Marketing of Health Services; D014481:United States