A Participatory Approach to Designing a Community Health Survey: Part of the Catalyzing Public Policy to Improve Community Health Project

Publication Date:

Publisher: Sinai Urban Health Institute

Author(s): A.M. Shah; C. Williams; J. Delgado; S. Whitman

Research Area: Health

Type: Report

Abstract:

This report describes how community-based participatory research was used to develop and implement a health survey that collected data across diverse and local communities. The authors describe why Chicago was chosen as the target city, the types of health behaviors that were covered by the survey and the reason why community?based participation was so important to the project. Six of Chicago's 77 community areas were selected to participate. A survey design committee was organized, composed of health epidemiologists, community members and advocates, policy-makers and health administrators, with the idea that all of those affected by an issue should have some input into the survey design, including decisions about what questions to ask and what topics to cover.



The survey was implemented face?to?face in the participant's homes by an experienced university survey organization. Respondents were paid $40 for their time and feedback on the adult portion of the survey and $20 for the child portion. The image developed to capture the underlying aim of the project illustrated the many hands involved in building the survey. The researchers found that the community perspective allowed topics to range beyond the usual national health surveys and included questions on health behaviors, barriers and risk factors that were specific to certain racial groups. At the end of the survey construction, a review was carried out among the community representatives in order to better understand the experience. Recommendations were made about how to improve the process for future surveys. This survey design approach may serve as a model for others to develop community surveys.