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A Community Health Assessment, or CHA, is a formal process to better understand the health needs of a community. CHAs are led by a governmental department, such as a local, county, tribal or state health agency. For healthy community advocates, a CHA is an opportunity to bring to light and emphasize how factors beyond health care affect the overall health of the community.
A requirement for national accreditation, most government health departments complete a CHA at least every five years. A CHA should:
Once a CHA is complete, a health department develops a Community Health Improvement Plan, or CHIP, which presents strategies of how the identified health challenges will be addressed.
While CHAs often focus on health conditions or health care services, such as cancer, diabetes or behavioral health, some identify broader social determinants of health, such as poor housing, lack of healthy food and widespread racism or poverty, as a community impediment to good health.
CHAs are similar to a process that nonprofit hospitals must organize, known as a Community Health Needs Assessment. Because of the similar nature of both processes, some public health departments and nonprofit hospitals coordinate these assessment processes. See this report for more information on collaborating to develop healthy communities.
This Jargon Buster was contributed by Vitalyst Health Foundation.
