The health status of a community can be assessed by public health practitioners who are adequately trained in the core competency of needs assessment. However, traditionally health educators are trained to conduct deficiency-based data gathering inorder to create a composite of the community in question. More of often than not this approach only tells half the story. It is the social context of a community, influenced by broader social determinants of health, that supplies the potential to improve a community's health status. An approach to determining this potential has been referred to as community Assets Mapping. Based upon social science principles, the Assets Mapping tool captures the capacity of mobilizing a community for action. As a result new linkages and connections formed amongst individuals, institutions, and associations become a critical component for program planning. With this in mind the Knox County Health Department in a campus-community partnership, partnered with the University of Tennessee Knoxville to conduct a survey of 184 college/Unversity Health Education Programs and faculities in 1999. The purpose of the study was to determine if schools of Public Health, and Universities/Colleges, with health education/promotion programs were teaching Assets Mapping and,if so, where in the curriculum sequence and to what scope? Highlighted outcomes from the completed surveys (28.3% response rate)include: 59.6% of responding schools were aware of Assets Mapping, 16% were teaching it at the undergradute level, and 41.9% were teaching it at the graduate level. The discusion will highlight ramifications for teaching an assets based approach to community needs assesment. See www.nwu.edu/IPR/abcd.html
Learning Objectives: At the end of the session, participants will be able to: 1)describe the Assets Mapping process, and 2) discuss the feasability of incorporating the tool as a topic for instruction.
Keywords: Community-Based Partnership, Community Assets
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: The Asset-Based Community developmentInstitute,
Institute for Policy Research,
Northwestern University
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.