[Durgical](https://durgical.com/en/) › [DurgiPedia](https://durgical.com/en/durgipedia/) › [Nursing](https://durgical.com/en/nursing/) › [Family and community nursing](https://durgical.com/en/nursing/areas/community/) › Community assessment and diagnosis: data, participation and priorities # Community assessment and diagnosis: data, participation and priorities - Safe practice The team gathers data about a community, with its people, to name its main health problems and decide together which to tackle first. Updated Nov 12, 2026 ## Key points - Secondary data first, then primary data collected with the community. - Windshield survey: direct observation of housing, services, transport, shops, schools and hazards. - A community diagnosis names the problem, the affected group, the effects and the indicators that show it. - Participation is not optional: the community helps define itself, its problems and its priorities. - Outcomes are written as SMART objectives and evaluated against the plan. ## What it is Community assessment is the nursing process applied to a population. The team combines existing data (local diagnoses, census and health information systems) with data it collects itself: windshield surveys, key-informant interviews, focus groups, surveys, public forums and participant observation. It then writes a community diagnosis, sets priorities, plans interventions with the community and evaluates the results. In Colombia, MinSalud guidance for basic health teams adds social mapping of the micro-territory and criteria such as poverty, child malnutrition, maternal and infant deaths, adolescent pregnancy, suicide attempts, hypertension and dengue to decide where to act first. ## What it requires - Respect for the community's own definition of itself and of its problems. - Data from several sources, compared over time and with similar communities. - Attention to vulnerable subgroups and to the barriers they report. - Agreement with local leaders and with the territorial health authority. ## Components - Assessment: secondary data (local diagnoses, DANE, SISPRO) and primary data (observation, interviews, focus groups, surveys, forums). - Social mapping: a map of homes, community resources, environmental hazards and access routes, ideally guided by a community leader. - Community diagnosis: problem + affected group + effects + indicators. - Priorities, plan, implementation and evaluation. ## How it is applied (and why) - Define the community and meet its leaders and organisations — entry and trust come before data. - Review existing data on population, illness, deaths and service coverage — avoids repeating work and shows trends. - Walk or drive the area with a windshield survey and a social map — shows housing, hazards, services and access. - Hold key-informant interviews, focus groups or a public forum at times and places people can attend — adds the community's view. - Write each diagnosis with the problem, the group, the effects and the indicators — makes the problem clear and measurable. - Rank problems with the community using size, severity, vulnerable groups and feasibility — resources go where they matter most. - Plan SMART objectives and interventions with the community and other sectors — shared plans are more likely to last. - Evaluate results against the objectives and share them with the community — shows what worked and what to change. ## In nursing practice - Example of a diagnosis: higher need for sexual-health education among adolescents of a district, shown by a rising adolescent pregnancy rate. - Key informants give depth at low cost but take time and can be biased. - Focus groups of about six to ten people with similar backgrounds reveal values and perceptions. - Assets matter: schools, churches, community kitchens and leaders are part of the solution. ## Common mistakes - Using only official statistics and never asking the community. - Writing a diagnosis that does not name the affected group or the evidence. - Choosing priorities alone in the office. - Planning interventions that duplicate what another programme already does in the same territory. - Not returning the results to the community. ## Test yourself Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it. ## What four parts should a community diagnosis include? The problem, the affected population or vulnerable group, the effects of the problem on that group, and the indicators that show the problem in the community. ## What is a windshield survey? Direct observation of a community while moving through it, noting housing, pollution, parks, transport, services, shops, schools and places of worship. ## What are three ways to collect primary data in a community assessment? Any three of: key-informant interviews, focus groups, surveys, public forums, windshield surveys and participant observation. ## Why should the community take part in setting priorities? Because it knows its own needs and resources, and plans built with it are more accepted and more likely to last. [Add to my cards (4)](https://durgical.app/estudiar/?add=/en/nursing/community-assessment-and-diagnosis-data-participation-and-priorities/) ## Elsewhere in DurgiPedia - [Social determinants of health](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/social-determinants-of-health/) - [Public health surveillance](https://durgical.com/en/epidemiology/public-health-surveillance/) ## Connections ## Related 2 - [Community and public health nursing: roles, levels of prevention and settings](https://durgical.com/en/nursing/community-and-public-health-nursing-roles-levels-of-prevention-and-settings/) - [Planning, running and evaluating a health-education session or group](https://durgical.com/en/nursing/planning-running-and-evaluating-a-health-education-session-or-group/) [← All of nursing](https://durgical.com/en/nursing/) Educational content for students; it does not replace your institution's protocols, supervised clinical training or a prescriber's order. Dose-calculation examples use made-up numbers: they are educational, not a clinical order. Sources: [Nursing: Mental Health and Community Concepts, 16.3 Applying the Nursing Process to Community Health (Open RN, CC BY 4.0)](https://med.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Nursing/Nursing%3A_Mental_Health_and_Community_Concepts_(OpenRN)/16%3A_Community_Assessment/16.03%3A_Applying_the_Nursing_Process_to_Community_Health) (Open Resources for Nursing (Open RN) / LibreTexts, 2022); [Lineamientos para la organización y operación de los Equipos Básicos de Salud (Resolución 2788 de 2022): priorización, cartografía social y valoración comunitaria](https://www.minsalud.gov.co/sites/rid/Lists/BibliotecaDigital/RIDE/VS/PP/lineamientos-operacion-equipos-basicos-salud-resolucion-2788-2022.pdf) (Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social, Colombia, 2023); [Nursing: Mental Health and Community Concepts, 16.2 Community Health Concepts (Open RN, CC BY 4.0)](https://med.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Nursing/Nursing%3A_Mental_Health_and_Community_Concepts_(OpenRN)/16%3A_Community_Assessment/16.02%3A_Community_Health_Concepts) (Open Resources for Nursing (Open RN) / LibreTexts, 2022). ## **Spotted a mistake?** We are always improving for the community. Tell us what is wrong and our team will review it. Report a mistake Representative model, for educational purposes only. --- Source: https://durgical.com/en/nursing/community-assessment-and-diagnosis-data-participation-and-priorities/ License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/nursing/community-assessment-and-diagnosis-data-participation-and-priorities/