Module 5: Conducting Community Service Assessments in Native Communities

Goal of Module 5:

To provide Community Services Assessment steps, tools, and resources for the development of an HIV/AIDS prevention intervention program.

This module contains the fundamentals for the systematic gathering of knowledge to better understand the needs and strengths in your community as they relate to HIV. The knowledge gathered will help to build a strengths-based and community-driven HIV prevention intervention program which responds to community needs. The model used is based on the Community Services Assessment (CSA). This module will take you through the steps of a CSA: needs assessment, resource inventory, and gap analysis.

Contents
3a The Primary Question

This module helps you create and conduct a CSA to aid in planning your HIV prevention intervention program.

It includes information on:

Background research will likely identify unanswered questions, unresolved issues, and gaps in information. From this background research, create an extensive list of potential research questions to help uncover the information that you still need. Examine the list closely and prioritize your questions. This prioritization step is very important: the questions that you choose will lead the research and strongly influence the design, methodology, and ultimate results of your CSA.

Exercise: Primary Questions

  • What are the top three prioritized questions?
  • How will the information generated from these questions be used?
  • Will they tell you something new about the issue?
  • What will you do with the information once it is collected?
  • How do the questions fit into the broad questions/goal of the project?

The Web Center for Social Research Methods offers useful information on the advantages and disadvantages of various survey research methods. The Center includes help sections on formulating the questions, content, response format, and sequence for a survey.

It is important to see examples of HIV specific survey tools to help guide the creation of your own survey. Information & Knowledge for Optimal Health (INFO) Project has several HIV specific survey tools as well as the Population Council. To view these survey tool examples visit INFO Project at: http://www.infoforhealth.org/pr/m18/hivaids/ and the Population Council at: http://www.popcouncil.org/horizons/AIDSquest/surveys.html

Below are links to more guides to creating surveys: The University of Southwestern has an excellent guide to planning surveys to download this guide go to: http://www8.utsouthwestern.edu/vgn/images/portal/cit_56417/20/28/205319Planning_A_Survery.pdf

To learn more about creating and understanding survey research concepts and survey design visit the page of North Carolina State University go to: http://www2.chass.ncsu.edu/garson/pa765/survey.htm

Click here to read how Our Town selected their primary questions based on their CSA groundwork thus far.