Community Health Assessment & Health Improvement Planning

A community health assessment, also known as community health needs assessment, refers to a state, tribal, local, or territorial health assessment that identifies key health needs and issues through systematic, comprehensive data collection and analysis. A community health improvement plan  is a long-term, systematic effort to address public health problems based on the results of community health assessment activities and the community health improvement process.

A community health assessment gives organizations comprehensive information about the community’s current health status, needs, and issues. In turn, this information can help with developing a community health improvement plan by justifying how and where resources should be allocated to best meet community needs.

The information and guidance on these pages can help state, tribal, local, and territorial health departments as they develop community health assessments and health improvement plans, whether for accreditation preparation, nonprofit hospital collaboration, or other reasons.