Key Terms

aggregate

a specific subgroup of a community or population

benchmark

a point of reference or standard against which measurements can be compared

coalition

a group of people and organizations who work to address community needs and solve community problems

community engagement

the process of working collaboratively with and through groups of people to identify the health needs of community residents and strategies to address those needs

community health assessment (CHA)

provides a comprehensive picture of a community’s current health status, factors that contribute to higher health risks or poorer health outcomes, and available community resources to improve health; purpose of CHA and subsequent community health improvement plan is to identify key health needs of a community and to address those needs through strategic intervention

community health improvement plan (CHIP)

a long-term systematic plan to address issues identified in the community health assessment that describes how the health department and the community will work together to improve population health

community partners

all persons, agencies, and organizations who have an investment in the community’s health and in the local public health system

education

the establishment and arrangement of events to facilitate learning and skill development

gap analysis

analysis that is performed to identify and address the disparity between what is desired and real-world conditions

geographic information systems (GIS)

software and technology that can store, visualize, analyze, and interpret spatial data

health indicators

numerical measures of health outcomes, such as morbidity and mortality, that have been analyzed and are used to compare rates or trends of priority community health outcomes and determinants of health

learning

the process of gaining knowledge and skills that lead to behavioral changes

organizational health literacy

the degree to which organizations equitably enable individuals to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others

partnership

relationship characterized by mutual cooperation and responsibilities among individuals and groups

personal health literacy

the degree to which individuals have the ability to find, understand, and use information and services to inform health-related decisions and actions for themselves and others

primary data

data collected by the assessor directly from community members; PHAB considers primary data to be data for which collection is conducted, contracted, or overseen by the health department

qualitative data

data expressed in word form that cannot be quantified; describe perspectives of individuals and populations

quantitative data

data expressed by amount in numerical terms

secondary data

data obtained through existing reports on the community that were collected by another entity or for a purpose other than community health assessment

spatial data

data that identify the geographic location of phenomena, provide an overview of the community in map form, and can be used to compare one part of the community to another

vital statistics

population data about births, deaths, marriages, and divorces in the United States