Before developing fall prevention efforts in your community, it is important to understand the nature of the problem you are seeking to address, determine what services are needed to effectively address the problem, and who needs your services the most. These preliminary questions can be answered by conducting a needs assessment.
- Overview
Create an overview of your coalition’s planned needs assessment activities to share with needs assessment participants and to publicize your efforts in the community. - Older Adult Surveys
Learn first-hand about older adults’ interests, experiences, and needs in your community. Open-ended surveys like the example below are most effective when administered in person or by phone to ensure questions are properly understood and answered. - Older Adult Focus Groups
Focus groups involve gathering a group of seniors at a meeting place one or multiple times. Common areas to recruit seniors and hold focus groups include senior centers, retirement communities, nursing homes, and churches. Focus groups can provide stories, quotes, and first-hand experience with the problem your program is working to address. - Professional Surveys
Key informant interviews and surveys may be directed at medical and senior service providers. These people may be best reached by email, fax, or phone. These surveys and interviews can assess existing fall prevention programs and services being offered as well as providers’ knowledge of available fall prevention resources in the community. - Results Reports
After collecting and analyzing your results, create a report summarizing your results and highlighting key points gathered from the data to share with agencies, decision makers, consumers and their families, current and potential funders, and the community. Publicize your findings at public hearings, to administrators and legislators and for media releases.
Posted in: Coalition Building Resources