Conducting a Hispanic Health Needs Assessment in rural Kansas: building the foundation for community action

Healthy People 2020 states ethnic health disparities are a priority for the US. Although considerable national statistics document ethnic-related health disparities, information specific to rural areas is scarce and does not provide direction for implementing chronic disease prevention programming. Therefore, the purpose of our project was to use the Hispanic Health Needs Assessment (HHNA), a tool designed by the National Alliance for Hispanic Health (NAHH), in culturally diverse, rural Southwest Kansas. Our focus areas included: access to healthcare, heart disease, diabetes, overweight, nutrition, and physical activity. METHODS: The assessment followed six steps: (1) developing the assessment team, (2) data gathering using community member surveys, existing statistics and community leader interviews, (3) assembling the findings, (4) formulating recommendations for action at individual, institutional, community and policy levels, (5) sharing findings and program planning, and (6) sharing findings with NAHH. We identified several challenges collecting health related data in rural communities, but overall, the HHNA was a comprehensive and useful tool for guiding a community level health assessment. CONCLUSION: This process has provided our community partners with locally relevant statistics regarding the current status of health, health behaviors, and perceived community needs to inform resource allocation, program planning and applications for new funding initiatives.     

Mental Health Needs Assessment of a Major Urban University

Abstract

A questionnaire surveying mental health needs was administered in class to 1,412 Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) students, and a service utilization questionnaire was administered to 154 students applying for mental health services at four campus-based agencies. The nature of the specific problems of concern to students tended to remain stable over the course of a semester. Study habits and grades was the most frequently cited problem area on the needs survey, though help was sought most frequently for physically oriented concerns. Students lacking important sources of social support reported the most difficulties. Students who sought help had more problems and higher levels of concern than those not seeking help. A comparison of the two data sources indicated a slight but significant tendency for agencies to deal with the greatest areas of need at the severity levels indicated in the needs survey.     

Charting the discourse of community action: Perspectives from practice in rural Wales

Community participation through direct action at both local and national levels has been widely encouraged during the last decade by policy makers and citizens engaged in voluntary initiatives. A range of complementary and competing discourses on the nature, value and purpose of community participation is apparent. To date, the intent, success and justification for contemporary community participation have received limited critical evaluation, however, given the complexity of its implicit agenda, it is worth closer scrutiny. This paper reviews the underlying assumptions and academic evaluation of community participation in local action and highlights the complexity and multi-faceted nature of the discourse. An examination of the chronology of the implementation and integration of community participation in rural Wales explores the extent to which the process has become embedded and naturalized within the development agenda. This raises questions about the nature and momentum of different discourses of local engagement and outlines a range of research issues that need exploration.     

The Case for Needs Assessment:

No abstract available for this article.     

Needs for rural research in the northern Finland context

The aim of this paper is to discuss the needs and demands which rural research faces at the interface between research and development. The case study area is northern Finland, which constitutes the most remote and sparsely populated areas of the European Union. This paper is based on the tradition of rural research since the 1980s in connection with the development of programme-based rural and regional policy. Rural researchers are desired actors in rural and regional development projects and programmes both at the national and regional level, but their challenge is to fulfil both academic standards of their background research organization and the often very practical needs of local and regional rural development actors. According to the opinions of rural actors in northern Finland, the definition of rural research is somewhat unclear and multidisciplinarity of rural research seems to give a free hand to carry out many kinds of research under the title. The needs and demand for rural research(ers) are quite practical and are mostly connected to the creation of new job opportunities outside primary production and development of villages via proposals given by researchers. The major result of this study is that rural research is highly appreciated both in programmes and among actors on the “field”, although the real role given to research remains unclear in most cases.     

Building community: a conceptual framework for child protection

This paper proposes a community-building framework as an innovative strategy to begin to re-claim children and families at risk. It is a strategy that identifies a purpose, a value base, knowledge and theoretical dimensions, and methods of practice that present as an approach for child welfare systems to consider shifts in thinking in order to meet what is considered the most important challenge of the next century: that of rediscovering community. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Needs Assessment for a University-Based Employee Assistance Program

Between 10-20 percent of the total employee population in any institution of higher education are troubled employees. The lack of visibility and the absence of structure, especially in faculty positions, are risk factors. Higher education has become proactive in developing Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) in response to organizational personnel problems. A needs assessment survey was conducted to ascertain the need for a university-based EAP in a state university in southern California. The findings suggested that EAP services were needed.     

Contemporary strategies for rural community development in Australia: a governmentality perspective

Contemporary strategies for rural development in Australia are based upon notions of self-help and bottom-up, community-based initiatives which are said to `empower’ the individual from the imposing structures of government intervention. While such strategies are not entirely new to Australia, they have, it seems, been inadequately theorised to date and are generally regarded, in rather functionalist terms, as indicative of attempts to cut back on public expenditure. Harnessing itself to the `governmentality’ perspective, this paper explores government and `expert’ discourses of rural community development in Queensland and suggests, instead, that these strategies are indicative of an advanced liberal form of rule which seeks to `govern through community'. With this in mind, three basic research questions are identified as worthy of further exploration; how are the notions of self-governing individuals and communities constructed in political discourse; what political rationalities are used to justify current levels of (non) intervention and finally; what are the discourses, forms and outcomes of empowerment at the local level? The paper concludes by arguing that while the empowering effects of self-help are frequently cited as its greatest virtue, it is not so much control as the added burden of responsibility that is being devolved to local people. Given the emphasis of the governmentality perspective on strategies for `governing at a distance', however, these conclusions can hardly be unexpected.     

A Human Needs Assessment of a Trade Union:

No abstract available for this article.     

Repositioning culture for development: women and development in a Nigerian rural community

Most studies on women have ignored women's view of themselves in relation to their roles in community development. This study uses interview and ethnographic data from Nigeria to investigate women's narratives of themselves concerning their position in a rural cultural space in relation to community development. It explores ways of repositioning patriarchal or gender unresponsive cultures for eliciting women's potentials in community development. It emphasises how women's cultural constrains in a patriarchal community have led to a rare survival strategy – that is, the evolution of an invisible matriarchy. As a recommendation, it presents a framework for culture repositioning and a map of actors' responsibilities for its achievement. It contributes to ongoing debates on women in rural community development. It raises conceptual questions about customary practices that affect women's values in communities in Nigeria's rural areas. Finally, it presents three main lessons that can be drawn by women (and men) in traditional communities in non-Western societies.     

A Multi-Dimensional Assessment of the Health Needs of Homeless Infants and Pre-School Children in Phoenix

The dual purpose of this study was to identify the comprehensive health needs of a selected group of homeless children in Phoenix, Arizona, and to utilize the findings in developing needed services. A non-random sample of 60 infants and pre-school children were given on-site physical, dental, developmental, behavioral, and nutritional assessments. The study included Medicaid’s Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment procedures, complete oral screening, the Denver DevelopmentaL and Denver ArticuLation Screening Test, the Pre-school Behavior Inventory, and parental interviews. Fifty-eight of the 60 children screened needed further evaluation, treatment, or follow-up services. The most significant problems included low hematocrit readings, inadequate immunizations, and untreated medical and dental problems specific to this age group. Also identified were developmental deLays and potential behavior problems. It is imperative that aggressive outreach and follow-up services be developed to reach homeless children and to insure that needed intelVentions are provided.     

The social context of hoarding behavior: Building a foundation for sociological study

This paper aims to build a foundation from which sociologists can effectively address hoarding as a social problem embedded in a wider economic, cultural, and historic context. By focusing on practices of consumerism, interior design, collecting and waste disposal, we can see how socially constructed attitudes toward objects are linked with three primary hoarding behaviors: the acquisition of objects, clutter within the home, and difficulty discarding items. The transformation of shopping into a leisurely pastime has created a cultural context in which the acquisition of objects is normal and expected. Arrangement of objects within the home can be used to create of a sense of class membership, and collecting as a hobby and a lifestyle has been socially and economically encouraged since the late 1800s. Finally, a look at disposal practices reveals that the way we get rid of objects can be just as socially dictated as the way we use them. The behaviors associated with hoarding have been historically developed and are actively encouraged in contemporary western society. By examining the social context of hoarding behaviors, we can move toward an understanding of the ways that hoarders and nonhoarders alike navigate the social and economic landscape using material culture.     

Building a profile of Missouri CSBG community action agencies: Capacities,coping strategies,and the new public management

Given the current environment of devolution, welfare reform, and fiscal retrenchment, this study examines the role of local nonprofit entities, called Community Action Agencies, operating under the auspices of the Community Services Block Grant program. Survey results indicate that despite an increase in working poor requiring CSBG services, staffs have been able to cope with increased demands. Community Action Agencies have been able to keep pace with increasing client demands by means of a variety of measures, including fund leveraging, resource competition, and relationship building. Accountability concerns and business‐oriented practices also were found to be a high priority of these agencies.     

Adoption of economic development strategies in small towns and rural areas: Effects of past community action

Incorporating elements from both human ecology and the theories of local social interaction, the purpose of this study is to ascertain empirically the independent, additive effect of past community action in explaining variations in recent adoption of economic development strategies. I consider and control the effects of other structural and ecological characteristics of small towns and rural areas that have been shown to be important sources of variation in economic development strategies. Results of the hierarchical regression analyses indicate that past community action variables make substantial independent contributions to explaining variations in financial assistance to firms, creation or expansion of recreation-related activities, and creation or expansion of human services after considering and controlling for the effects of community need, socioeconomic status and ecological characteristics. Contrary to expectations, past community action variables do not make a significant contribution to variance explanation in promotion to recruit business and industry and the use of government programs to encourage economic growth, an action arena many discussions of rural development portray as necessary foundations for community development. From a practical standpoint, the findings of this study encourage efforts to initiate local actions and develop or maintain symbols of local identity. These can play paramount roles in the future, if not immediately, as residents of rural communities seek to attain shared goals.     

The plight of rural women: alternatives for action

Women in rural areas perform many of the agricultural tasks as well as the household care tasks. In addition to food production, looking after children, and cultivating cash crops, women also process food, carry water, make cloth, and work 15-16 hours, often much longer than the men. Too often development programs disregard the needs of women altogether. Modernization has often had a negative effect on women. They have no access to modern tools or credit. Land reform, land settlement programs, and cooperatives have neglected to consider women's interests, roles, and position. Technogical progress has resulted in creating new inequalities between rural men and women. Development has increased the workload of women who are unpaid family helpers, and time-saving mechanised device have replaced women's jobs. In most developing countries women are active in home-based industrial production. The contractor who provides the material and collects the finished product is often a wealthy landowner who also get the profits. Technical cooperation projects should be geared more directly to food processing and traditional sectors where women predominate with the goal of reducing work loads. Organization or group action is necessary to achieve economies of scale; to eliminate middle men, money-lenders and traders profiting from women's work; and, to provide solidarity and support to women otherwise isolated in their homes and on their farms.     

Building evaluative culture in community services: Caring for evidence

An organization with a strong evaluative culture engages in self-reflection, evidence-based learning and experimentation. It sees evidence as essential for managing well, but building such a culture is challenging. Community service organizations seek to provide effective services for their clients. To build an evaluative culture, they need to acquire basic monitoring and evaluation capabilities, be provided with opportunities for using these capabilities and be adequately motivated to care about evidence as a means to improve services to their clients. Leadership along with a phased in approach are key in bringing about these behaviour changes.     

Supporting a strong sense of purpose: lessons from a rural community

Many rural youth leave their small home towns, at least temporarily, to pursue education and work opportunities after high school. A strong sense of purpose will likely help these young people navigate their transition to adulthood away from the comforts of home. A case study of high school students in a remote rural county in the Pacific Northwest using survey and ethnographic data showed that traditional out-of-school activities (for example, sports, theater, band, Future Farmers of America) and community-based activities (for example, community symphony, community classes, community events), along with work experiences, were all important for developing a strong sense of purpose. The case study points to the important role small rural schools can play in supporting youth and connecting them to activities that foster a strong sense of purpose. In addition, this article discusses the importance of paying attention to the development of a sense of purpose alongside traditional measures of academic achievement and social competence.