Community Needs Assessments

Shoreline Health Solutions can provide health centers with a comprehensive community needs assessment. The needs assessment includes a written summary of demographic/economic characteristics of your community, a quantified assessment of unmet need, summary of health disparities specific to your community, summary of barriers to accessing existing sources of care, and analysis of gaps in existing health care services. Needs assessments can be customized to the health center's specific needs, such as inclusion of data related to homelessness or maternal and child health.

A comprehensive needs assessment can serve as a useful tool to identify areas of specific need within your health center's service area. Examples may include gaps in existing services (such as the need for improved access to dental or substance use disorder services), as well as health disparities specific to your community (such as high rates of diabetes or asthma). The services provided by your health center can then be tailored to meet the specific needs of your community, providing an objective basis for determining which services are offered.

FQHCs are required to complete a needs assessment to fulfill a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) program requirement. A community needs assessment specific to your health center's service area and target population must be completed at least every three years.

A needs assessment can also be used to prepare grant applications. Much of the material provided in the needs assessment can be cut/pasted into the "Need" section of HRSA applications, including information from the UDS Mapper system. Many other non-HRSA grant applications also require needs assessment data to justify the need for funding within the local community.