Public Health: Needs Assessment and Community Characteristics

This article discusses the importance of needs assessment in public health and the characteristics of the community surrounding University of Wollongong. It also explains the difference between primary and secondary data sources and provides examples of each. The advantages and disadvantages of using questionnaires and journals as data sources are also discussed.

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Needs assessment
Leading a necessities evaluation is the first, and presumably the most critical, advance in any
fruitful arranging process (Percy-Smith 2016). Adequate time ought to be given for every
need evaluation. The measure of time required for a necessities appraisal will rely upon the
time you have accessible to address the issue, and the nature and earnestness of the issue
being evaluated. Needs appraisal is the way toward distinguishing and understanding the
medical issues of the network, and their conceivable causes. The issues are then dissected
with the goal that needs can be set for any important intercessions (Des Jarlais et al 2014).
The data you gather amid a requirements appraisal will fill in as a standard for checking and
assessment at a later stage. There are a few advantages to arranging your exercises. Initially,
arranging empowers you to coordinate your assets to the issue you expect to tackle.
Furthermore, arranging causes you to utilize assets all the more proficiently, so you can
guarantee the best utilization of rare assets. Thirdly, it can help stay away from duplication of
exercises.
Community characteristics to be considered
Naturality
This basically describes the originality of individuals settled in Wollongong in terms of their
birth place. Given that the area is settled with both the locals and other people from different
areas (Wang & Burris 2017). The community surrounding University of Wollongong is
normally composed, it is neither a result of human will nor have been made by any
demonstration of the administration and it develops suddenly.
Community Sentiment:
System incline implies a strong sentiment of shock feeling among the people or an
assessment of having a place together. It implies an estimation of essential living that exists
among the people from a zone, (Petersen & Lupton 1996).
Size of community
The size of the community surrounding University of Wollongong is considerably big and
falls under the essential characteristics to be considered.

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Diversity
There is sense of different races surrounding Wollongong University. This in turn gives a
view of a coherent society supporting indifference.
Primary and secondary data source
A primary source provides immediate or direct confirmation around an occasion, question,
individual or masterpiece (Wang & Burris 2017). Distinctively, essential sources are
contemporary to the occasions and individuals depicted and demonstrate negligible or no
intercession between the report/ancient rarity and its maker.
All primary sources gives out direct and also very first hand indication about an object, event,
and person or rather work of the art. It is through the primary sources that we get the
materials which are original and also many more researches are usually based or refer to
when carrying out the study. Materials which are distributed are taken as very important
assets since they are always originating from the source itself, the materials are original, they
are retrieved from the original source hence the reason as to why the source is more and well
trusted from information is being taken out of it. In most of the situations, the primary source
mirror the really perspective of the individual, the sources are either the ones composed or the
others which are not composed.
A secondary source, conversely, does not have the instantaneousness of an essential record.
As materials created at some point after an occasion happened, they contain data that has
been translated, remarked, dissected or handled so that it never again passes on the freshness
of the first (Kenagy 2015).
The secondary sources of information and general data retrieval depict, translate, outline,
investigate, examine, remark upon and also does processing to very essential sources of data
retrieval. This particular source, is mostly not included in the core stages of the day and age,
they are normally stored in material forms, like the books with the possibility of being
checked and confirmed when needed in the near future. This particular sources under normal
circumstances, do not contain the very first hand information which was from the author, the
information is normally distorted hence not accurate. The most essential factor with
secondary sources is that they do the data organization, the repackage the data into logical
order for easy finding. A very good example of this data includes the journals which are

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found online, the websites, books and other written documents which can be referred in case
information is needed.

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Primary Source- Questionnaires
Questionnaires are classified into paper-based or electronic. The principle purposes behind
utilizing examiner to gather information is that its snappy, all members are allowed to critic
(Oghuvwu & Adewoyin 2016). The reason with respect to why utilizing survey is a favoured
alternative is on the grounds that it takes into account input from the network, where it is
doubtful to accumulate feedback using other more resource concentrated methodologies, it
empowers the system opportunity to give secretive contribution on their experience. They
similarly help to recognize illustrations and examples that authenticity propel examination
using abstract methodologies. Unstructured studies think about more indulgent feedback that
may give information into illuminations to what is happening and individuals' suppositions,
attitudes, estimations, perceptions et cetera (Des Jarlais et al 2014). They in like manner think
about issues to rise that are not by any stretch of the imagination foreseen by the evaluator.
Secondary Source- Journals
There's no insignificant rundown of points of interest related with drawing research data from
scholastic diaries on the web and disconnected. And keeping in mind that everything has its
advantages and disadvantages, the professionals of utilizing scholastic diaries for look into
purposes far exceed the cons (Hyun et al 2016). The accompanying are a portion of the
unmistakable focal points of utilizing these incredible data hotspots for your exploration: they
are exceedingly valid, they offer clearness, they offer proof for their cases, they offer a wide
degree for inquire about, they give centered research offering an expansive amount of
research. Diaries can give a nitty gritty vast amount of data about the network throughout the
years and its relationship with University of Wollongong. Expanded point of view, Academic
diaries are an accumulation of contemplations and feelings by their creators who, subsequent
to directing inquiries about and investigations, pen down their considerations and finding in
diaries, (Makrides et al 2018). Also, much the same as conversing with various individuals
about a specific subject expands your point of view on the theme, so does perusing the
musings and finishes of various creators. Diaries enable you to see themes from a wide range
of edges, consequently figuring your individual assessment and end.
Journal Articles
SAGE journals: A Case Study Approach at a European University, made use of survey as
their method of data collection (Herdlein & Zurner 2015). From the journal it can be deduced
that survey proved advantageous and disadvantageous in several ways.

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Advantages of survey
 Generally easy to direct
 Can be created in less time (stood out from other data amassing methods)
 Cost-convincing, anyway cost depends upon think about mode
 Can be managed remotely by methods for on the web, PDAs, mail, email, stall, or
telephone.
 Led remotely can decrease or envision arrive dependence
Disadvantage of surveys
 Respondents may not feel extraordinary giving answers that present themselves in a
foreboding way.
 A respondent motivation behind a question may be unawares
 Because of nonattendance of memory in regards to the issue, or even exhaustion.
 Data botches in light of question non-responses may exist.
Conference series journals made use of questioners in their quest to understand the needs of a
student (Sembiring et al 2017). The questioners gave a positive result in terms of the time
spent to carry out data collection. This method can in turn be used by University of
Wollongong since it proves to be time saving and cheaper.
Advantages of questionnaires
 It is utilitarian
 The delayed consequences of the surveys can as a general rule be quickly and easily
assessed by either a researcher or utilizing an item package
 Can be dismembered more 'tentatively' and impartially than various sorts of research
 Right when data has been assessed, it has a tendency to be used to examine other
research and may be used to check change
Disadvantage of Questionnaires
 It needs authenticity.
 There isn’t any genuine way to tell how legitimate a respondent is being.

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 The respondent can be oblivious or not thinking inside the full setting of the
condition.
 There is a level of researcher burden, suggesting that when developing the survey, the
master is settling without anyone else decisions and suppositions as for what is and
isn't important, therefore they may miss something that is of essentialness (Kenagy
2015).

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References
Des Jarlais, D.C., Lyles, C., Crepaz, N. and Trend Group, 2014. Improving the reporting
quality of nonrandomized evaluations of behavioral and public health interventions: the
TREND statement. American journal of public health, 94(3), pp.361-366.
Hyun, J.K., Quinn, B.C., Madon, T. and Lustig, S., 2016. Graduate student mental health:
Needs assessment and utilization of counseling services. Journal of College Student
Development, 47(3), pp.247-266.
Herdlein, R. and Zurner, E., 2015. Student Satisfaction, Needs, and Learning Outcomes: A
Case Study Approach at a European University. SAGE Open, 5(2), p.2158244015580373.
Kenagy, G.P., 2015. Transgender health: Findings from two needs assessment studies in
Philadelphia. Health & social work, 30(1), pp.19-26.
Makrides, L., Veinot, P., Richard, J., McKee, E. and Gallivan, T., 2018. A cardiovascular
health needs assessment of university students living in residence. Can J Public
Health, 89(3), pp.171-75.
Percy-Smith, J., 2016. Needs assessments in public policy. Open University Press.
Petersen, A. and Lupton, D., 1996. The new public health: Health and self in the age of risk.
Sage Publications, Inc.
Oghuvwu, O.S. and Adewoyin, A.S., 2016. C45 DYSPNEA: TAKES YOUR BREATH
AWAY: Hydroxyurea Therapy In Adult Nigerian Sickle Cell Disease: A Monocentric Pilot
Survey On Pattern Of Use, Clinical Effects And Patient's Compliance. American Journal of
Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 193, p.1.
Sembiring, P., Sembiring, S., Tarigan, G. and Sembiring, O.D., 2017, December. Analysis of
Student Satisfaction in The Process of Teaching and Learning Using Importance Performance
Analysis. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 930, No. 1, p. 012039). IOP
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Wang, C. and Burris, M.A., 2017. Photovoice: Concept, methodology, and use for
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