Community Improvement Priorities

Which criteria are most important for use in determining community health improvement priorities and why?
There are many important factors to take into account for use in determining which community health concerns should be a priority. Initially, a list of health concerns should be identified with the list narrowed down after the task force has determined what percent of the community population is at risk for the health problem, and what percent of the population has the health problem. Determining priorities means taking into account the trends and patterns in health data and to apply lessons learned from research. It is also crucial to include expectations from community residents, community partners and decision makers. The availability of resources, both monetarily and in manpower, to implement a possible priority must also be taken into consideration. The severity of the problem and number of people affected, disparity/equity and values are also a determining factor for establishing health priorities (APEXPH, 1991). Also, health problems that may cause death or have significant comorbidities are considered for determining community improvement priorities as is the “consequences of inaction “ (archived.naccho.org, n.d.). These criteria play an important role for establishing the top health priorities of a community.

Each method has strengths and weakness and depends upon a strong facilitator to move the process a long. Community members should be included in any method that is establishing criteria ((APEXPH,