title: Community needs and strengths assessments as an active learning project.
abstract: The Community Needs and Strengths Assessment Project (CNSAP) incorporated development of needs and strengths assessment research into an undergraduate Community Health course as an active learning project--one of seven principles for effective practice in undergraduate education. Community needs and strengths assessments prove useful to health educators primarily in planning programs and promoting effective public relations. Assessments also help to identify and diagnose health problems and to evaluate programs. Through the CNSAP students completed a process health educators use to identify gaps between current and required programs and to prioritize assets and resources based on community needs and strengths. The CNSAP focused on mastery of four skills required for completing a needs and strengths assessment: identifying data sources, conducting primary data collection from a target audience, analyzing data and prioritizing identified needs and strengths, and abstracting information concisely. The project, which included substantial community involvement, helped students identify needs and strengths necessary for addressing community health problems and concerns.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018672:Community Health Planning; D003479:Curriculum; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D020380:Needs Assessment; D010865:Pilot Projects; D018794:Problem-Based Learning; D015397:Program Evaluation; D013781:Texas; D014495:Universities