Community Assessment
Step 4: Using the Community Assessment Survey
- How this Tool is Organized
- Data Collection
- Aging Texas Well Community Assessment Questionnaire
- The Next Steps
- Related Links
The Aging Texas Well Community Assessment Tool is not a traditional "needs assessment" tool. That is, it is not a tool for evaluating the specific types or quantities of services needed by members of the community. Rather, it is a broad tool for evaluating the capacity and potential of your infrastructure in providing support to individuals as they grow older. Questions are based on the Declaration of Objectives outlined by the Older Americans Act.
How this Tool is Organized
The Aging Texas Well Community Assessment Tool consists of specific questions across each of the Aging Texas Well infrastructure areas. Each set of questions is divided into two areas: Identifying Your Resources and Building Your Community. You may already have the answers to some questions, while some questions may not be relevant to your community. The questions in the Community Assessment Tool are only a starting point. Your ATW Community Assessment Team should build upon these questions and tailor them to the unique needs and resources of your community. Your team may choose to prioritize the areas to target initially.
Data Collection
The types of information collected will depend on the definition of your community, the partnership team's focus and vision, and the resources available to conduct the assessment. You can obtain information already collected by various community agencies (e.g., existing needs assessments), or collect new information from the community (e.g., older individuals, family members, and service providers) through the following techniques:
- interviews
- surveys
- focus groups
- public forums
A local university, community college, or other contractor may be a valuable resource in collecting new data or analyzing existing data.
In answering the questionnaire, first determine the age range in which you are interested. Unless otherwise noted, the questions are designed to apply to older members of the defined community, but can be adapted to use with other age groups. The Older Americans Act defines persons eligible to receive services under the Act as age 60 or older. This was the population used to establish the statewide benchmarks.
The Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services has established statewide benchmarks in each area of focus that can be used for comparison with your community.
If you have any additional questions on any aspect of the ATW Community Assessment Questionnaire, please contact your Area Agency on Aging or the DADS State Unit on Aging.
AGING TEXAS WELL COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE
Begin by creating a profile of your community.
Community Profile
- What is the size of the targeted population? How fast is it growing? What is the projected size of in five, 10, 15, or 20 years? (Texas State Data Center)
- What is the racial/ethnic breakdown?
- What are the differences between urban and rural areas?
- What is the community's climate and geographical description?
- What is the poverty rate?
- What is the education level?
- What is the employment rate?
Choose from the links below to find questions that will help you assess your community by topic area.
- Caregiving
- Community Support
- Education
- Employment
- Financial
- Housing
- Legal
- Physical Health
- Protection
- Recreation
- Transportation
- Volunteerism
Caregiving
There are four kinds of people in the world — those who are caregivers, those who were caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need care. Informal caregivers — those relatives and friends who provide unpaid care —are the backbone of the long-term care system.
Caregivers provide much of the support to people who want to remain in their homes but who need assistance with daily activities such as bathing, dressing, taking medications, preparing meals, shopping, or transportation. Caregivers also provide resources such as time, money, and/or shared residential spaces that help the older individual "age in place" and to ensure dignity for those who reside in nursing facilities and other types of residential care facilities.
Many caregivers must balance the demands of providing care with work and career. Caregivers also include grandparents who care for grandchildren when biological or adoptive parents are unable to do so.
Proceed to caregiving questions
Community Support
Individuals and families are often overwhelmed when trying to obtain information and arrange for services through public and nonprofit agencies. As a result, older Texans repeatedly cite the need for a source of general, more comprehensive information, assistance and referral for social services and support.
Proceed to community support questions
Education
Learning is a continuous lifelong process that plays a role in keeping one mentally active, promoting personal development, obtaining degrees and certifications, and learning new job skills. Education programs offer older adults not only places to learn, but also opportunities for social interaction.
Proceed to education questions
Employment
As labor force growth slows, and Americans enjoy longer and healthier lives, efforts to encourage people to work longer could have important benefits both for individuals and for the economy.
Despite misconceptions held by some employers, older workers are productive. Trends in key retirement income sources, such as Social Security and employer-sponsored pensions, suggest that many older Americans will not be able to retire at traditional ages and maintain their preretirement standard of living. For these and other reasons, working longer is an increasingly attractive alternative as the population ages.
Proceed to employment questions
Financial
The economic well-being of older adults has improved over the last century. Various income sources – Social Security, pension plans, personal savings, and employment earnings – affect whether an older person will have an economically secure future. However, pockets of poverty remain in certain communities and populations.
Proceed to financial questions
Housing
Most older adults live independently in homes they own and do not require supportive services. More than half of older adults (60 percent) do not have a disability that requires assistance with personal care needs or handling routine activities. Older individuals strongly prefer to age-in-place in their communities. The State of Texas Senior Housing Assessment (2003) PDF found that 91 percent of survey respondents said they would like to stay in their current residence for as long as possible.
Legal
Older adults and their families must prepare to address various legal matters ranging from estate planning to consumer protection. There are various ways older adults can plan for the future to ensure that their values, wishes, and choices are known and respected. Older adults must sometimes deal with age discrimination and other issues that threaten their legal rights, or they may fall victim to abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Legal planning and advice helps older Texans prepare for the future and protect their legal rights.
Physical Health
Access to quality affordable health care is critical to the well-being of older adults. Health care is a continuum that encompasses acute, chronic and long-term care and is delivered by primary or specialty care physicians and other health care providers.
- Acute care focuses on the treatment of conditions that occur suddenly and can be cured with a prescribed course of treatment.
- Chronic care is ongoing treatment given to manage diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
- Long-term care is the provision of personal care and assistance related to health and social services given episodically or over a sustained period to help people of all ages and their families achieve the highest level of functioning possible, regardless of the setting in which the assistance is given.
Proceed to physical health questions
Protection
From an individual perspective, state law provides every older person the right to be free of abuse, neglect and exploitation. From a social perspective, protection means adequate community infrastructure and resources to prevent, detect, treat, understand, intervene in and, where appropriate, prosecute elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
Definitions
-
Domestic elder abuse — Mistreatment of an older person by someone who has a relationship with the older adult (e.g., spouse, sibling, child, friend, or caregiver).
-
Institutional abuse — Occurs in residential facilities (e.g., nursing homes, group homes, assisted living) by people who have a legal or contractual obligation to provide care (e.g., paid caregivers, staff, and professionals).
-
Neglect — Refers to refusal or failure to fulfill any part of a person's obligations or duties. Self-neglect is the most common form of neglect among older adults and occurs when individuals are unable to meet their own basic needs (e.g., nutrition, hygiene, finances, medical care, and shelter) due to poverty and/or physical or mental impairment.
- Financial or material exploitation — Occurs when an individual improperly uses the resources of an older person without his/her consent for their own personal gain.
Proceed to protection questions
Recreation
Communities have an important role in providing recreational opportunities for residents that foster participation in hobbies or other activities of interest, and allow individuals to contribute to meaningful activity within the widest range of civic, cultural, educational, and training venues. Recreation is important to the overall physical and mental health of older adults.
Proceed to recreation questions
Transportation
Transportation is an essential part of the community infrastructure that helps people gain access to goods, services, and social contacts that support their daily activities and quality of life. Transportation is a symbol of personal freedom. Limiting transportation among any population can diminish personal independence, access, choice, and opportunities, leading to social isolation.
Almost 90 percent of the older population drives a personal automobile as their primary method of transportation. Estimates indicate that one in four drivers will be over the age of 65 by the year 2024. An ideal transportation system for older adults enables safe driving as late in life as possible and offers convenient transportation options when driving is not feasible. Approximately one-fourth of Americans 75 and older do not drive, with only five percent utilizing public transportation services.
Proceed to transportation questions
Volunteerism
Volunteerism provides an opportunity for older adults to participate in activities within a wide range of settings, and to provide a positive impact in the community. Individuals volunteer to remain productive, pursue an interest, and make a difference in the lives of others. Programs can benefit from the expertise and work experience older volunteers have to offer. Volunteer programs enlist an estimated 800,000 new volunteers each year nationwide across a variety of community organizations.
Proceed to volunteerism questions
The Next Steps
- Understand the Key Principles of Community Assessment
- Define your Community
- Form A Community Assessment Team
- Use the ATW Community Assessment Survey
- Take Action and Plan for Your Future
Related Links
For more information about the Aging Texas Well Initiative, please contact Michael Wilson, PhD.
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Updated: November 2, 2007
