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.
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 markets, 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. Analyse
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 supply
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.
CONCLUSION
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.
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.
TOPIC
AN ESSAY ON COMMUNITY DIAGNOSIS
A PAPER PRESENTED TO ROTARACT CLUB OF OWERRI
PRESENTED TO
THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH TECHNOLOGY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE REQUIREMENT OF COURSE PHT 611
PRIMARY HEALTH CARE
FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY OWERRI
SCHOOL OF HEALTH TECHNOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH TECHNOLOGY
SCHOOL OF HEALTH TECHNOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH TECHNOLOGY