Community diagnosis is just a way
individual, community state or nation, can be able to know their health needs
or what actually the people do the people wants in regards to their health.
These can be achieve through the combine effort of the entire individual,
community or nation. Community diagnosis should be based on an analysis of the
needs of the community. Available data or the health records of the behaviour
of the community should be carefully examined, with no special interest to any
specified disease. When we are doing community diagnosis we are to take into
cognizance the size or the population of the community.
In carrying out
community diagnosis we have to also known the internal or re-occurrence of
diseases with the community we should equally know the knowledge and attitudes
of the community members as regard disease within the community. We should be
able to access the quality of health care delivered within the community.
DEFINITION:
This is a process whereby the health needs of the community (either those identified by the community itself) (felt needs) or those identified by the health team.
This is a process whereby the health needs of the community (either those identified by the community itself) (felt needs) or those identified by the health team.
In other words,
we can still define community diagnosis as the process of finding out the needs
of the community. These needs include those already identify by the community
itself (felt needs) and other needs identify during the processes of diagnosis.
To identify
needs of a community, it will be necessary to collect information about the
community such as birth, death and other demographic events, health, manpower,
environmental problems and other infrastructures that contribute to health. These
information on community disease can be obtained by:-
(1)
Observation
(2)
Review of existing records
(3)
Screening for specific problems
(4)
Interview individual
(5)
Group discussion
METHODS USE IN COMMUNITY DIAGNOSIS
Gets a map of the community using their boundaries marke
ts, rivers, landmarks you have to know your entry point.
1. Pay a homage to the traditional ruler (Eze)
2. List the resources available in terms of men money and
materials.
3. Find out more about social and cultural practices (life
style)
4. Locate the infrastructures related to
health facilities such as water, electricity and transport.
5. Find out the major economic activities
(occupations of the community members)
6. Carryout interview among the people,
using suitable questionnaire or oral question.
7. Observe appropriate technology that is
useful for health planning or clinic health records.
8. Have group discussion with health staff
and with community leaders.
9. Carryout a survey with instrument that
have been pre-tested and using appropriate sampling technique.
10. Analyze data and write a report.
11. Give feed back to the community and
appropriate health authorities.
RELEVANCE/IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY
DIAGNOSIS
The need for community diagnosis
cannot be over emphasized. Community diagnosis is important as a result of the
following among other reasons.
1) It provides realistic information about a community
2) It provides basis for conducting health
planning on a community already diagnosed.
3) It create room for managerial decisions
about health development of a community.
4) It provides basis for determining what
resources will be needed for an intervention programme.
5) It provide base line for future
measurement of changes in community health problems.
TYPES OF COMMUNITY DIAGNOSIS
Community diagnosis
can be:
(a)
Descriptive i.e descriptive community diagnosis
(b)
Analytic i.e Analytic community diagnosis
While descriptive community
diagnosis can be used to show occurrence or distribution of selected diseases
or health indicators,
Analytic community diagnosis is
used for the following
- Identification of groups that require care
- Determination of causal factors of disease in the community
- Determination of attributes that constitute risk (markets) for vulnerable groups in the communities.
- Identify community syndromer e.g (malnutrition which can be a community syndrome in peer communities)
PROBLEMS OF COMMUNITY DIAGNOSIS
i. Source and nature of water supp
ly
ii.
Housing and living condition
iii.
Environmental sanitation
iv.
Obnoxious cultural practices
v.
Taboos and inhibitions
vi.
Food supply and nutrition
vii.
Social-economic status: How rich or poor community members are
viii.
Nature of health care services:- Do they have trained
health care providers, these who recognize and treat the most common occurring
disease in the population, and should be equipped to do so either in the local
health or at referral centres.
All this factors militate against
the diagnosis of our communities and if not properly managed or handle will
lead one disease or the other.
Community
diagnosis provided for the detection of disease of local importance, it makes
the community members be aware of what is their health needs or problems by
where of Education, it helps the community, early intervention of disease and
disease pattern; within the community. It also help in the treatment of disease
of local importance, curative measures are put in place. It also helps in the
measuring the impact of individual disease and risk factors, as well as their
amenability to control.
Lastly
community diagnosis estimate disease.
Priority:- By this I mean
that the highest priority must be given for the most common condition and most
severe disease, especially, those conditions that can be significantly improve by appropriate intervention.
Obviously a disease with high morbidity and mortality in childhood and
adolescence is a more serious public health problem, than one that has a
similar effect on elderly persons say over the age of 80 years.
REFERENCE
Alakija W. (2000) Essentials of Community Health Primary Health Care and Health Management, Benin Nigeria, Medisuccess Publisher.
Hand note on Primary Health Care Futo Owerri 2008 by Dr. Emereole
Awake Magazine June 1997
Adetokunbo O. Lucas and Herbert
M. Gines Short Textbook of Public Health medicine
for the Tropics 2003 Book Power Publishers.
Amanze H. E. a Hand Note on Environmental Health
Series. Aba Nigeria.