III Glossary

Community diagnosis: A summary statement resulting from analysis of the data collected from a community health needs assessment.

Community health needs assessment: A systematic process to identify and analyze community health needs and assets in order to prioritize these needs, plan, and act upon significant unmet community health needs.

Focus groups: A systematic way of collecting data through small group discussion. Focus group participants are chosen to represent a larger group of people.

Health disparities: Health differences that are linked with social, economic, and/or environmental disadvantages.

Health equity:  A goal of everyone having a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible.

Health inequities: Avoidable differences in health status seen within and between communities.

Healthy community: A community in which local groups from all parts of the community work together to prevent disease and make healthy living options accessible.

Indicated prevention: Interventions that target individuals who have a high probability of developing disease.

Interviews: Structured conversations with specific individuals who have experience, knowledge, or understanding about a topic or issue.

Key informant interviews: Interviews are conducted with select people who are in key positions and have specific areas of knowledge and experience.

Leading health indicators (LHIs): A subset of high-priority Healthy People 2030 objectives to drive action toward improving health and well-being.

Primary data collection: Data collected to better understand the community’s needs and/or study who may be affected by actions taken for the community. Primary data collection includes tools such as public forums, focus groups, interviews, windshield surveys, surveys, and participant observation.^[1] 

Primary prevention: Interventions aimed at susceptible populations or individuals to prevent disease from occurring. Immunizations are an example of primary prevention.

Primordial prevention: Risk factor reduction strategies focused on social and environmental conditions targeted for vulnerable populations.

Public forms: Public gatherings where citizens discuss important issues at well-publicized locations and times.

Public health nurses:  Public health nurses work across various settings in the community such as government agencies, community-based centers, shelters, and vaccine distribution sites.^[2]

Quaternary prevention: Actions taken to protect individuals from medical interventions that are likely to cause more harm than good and to suggest interventions that are ethically acceptable.

Secondary analysis: Analyzing previously collected data and research about the community to determine community needs.

Secondary prevention: Interventions that emphasize early detection of disease and target healthy-appearing individuals with subclinical forms of disease.

Selected prevention: Interventions that target individuals or groups with greater risk factors for illness (and perhaps fewer protective factors) than the broader population.

Social determinants of health (SDOH): The conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age.

Surveys: Standardized questions that are relatively easy to analyze and are beneficial for collecting information across a large geographic area, hear from as many people as possible, and explore sensitive topics.

Tertiary prevention: Interventions implemented for symptomatic clients to reduce the severity of the disease and potential long-term complications.

Universal prevention: Interventions designed to reach entire groups or populations such as schools, whole communities, or workplaces.

Windshield survey: A form of direct observation of community needs while driving and literally looking through the windshield.