A community health assessment (often called a CHA) is a type of assessment that identifies key health needs and issues of a particular community. This is often done through data collection and data analysis that involves many individuals and community partners.

It can take place at different levels of government (such as the state, tribal, local, or territorial level), and our CHA update is taking place on the county level in Riverside County. The CHA can be called a community health needs assessment (often called a CHNA).

The CHA also leads to the development of the community health improvement plan (CHIP).

The goal of a CHA is to describe the health of certain populations, and in this case, the health of those who live and work in Riverside County. It is also an opportunity to identify ways to improve the health of the population, including what factors affect how and why communities are healthy or not so healthy.

By updating a CHA, we can highlight assets and strengths of various communities that can be leveraged to further improve population health.

A CHA provides comprehensive information about a community’s current health status, needs, and issues. This information can also help justify how and where resources should be allocated to best meet community needs.

Updating the CHA every five years is a prerequisite for Riverside University Health System - Public Health's re-accreditation with the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). A CHA and a community health improvement plan (CHIP) are two of three required items when applying to PHAB.

A CHA is updated with the feedback and input of individuals and community partners who live and work in Riverside County. This involves the collection and analysis of data provided by communities to create a broad picture of the state of health in the county.

In 2014, Riverside University Health System - Public Health (RUHS-PH) brought together a team of partner agencies to plan and prepare for Riverside County’s first comprehensive Community Health Assessment (CHA). The goal of this joint effort was to create a CHA that aligned with community values and reflected the needs of Riverside County’s diverse population. The Riverside County CHA was finalized in 2015.

In 2016, the Riverside County Health Coalition reviewed and compiled the information from the CHA to create Riverside County’s first Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP). The CHIP is a long-term, strategic plan to address the issues identified in the CHA. The purpose of the CHIP is to describe how community partners will work together to create a healthier and more equitable Riverside County. The Riverside County CHIP lasts from 2016 to 2021.

Riverside University Health System - Public Health (RUHS-PH) is preparing for the next update of the CHA. This will also lead to the next update of the community health improvement plan (CHIP), which will last another five years (2022-2027).

RUHS-PH is partnering with Health Assessment and Research for Communities (HARC) to conduct a countywide needs assessment. The needs assessment will various cover topics, such as demographics, COVID-19 needs and behaviors, adverse childhood experiences, and community health (for example, social determinants of health, priority health issues, etc.).

RUHS-PH is also partnering with Equity Wellness Institute, Inc. to build the capacity of and provide technical assistance to select community-based organizations (CBOs). These CBOs will be trained in community-based participatory research (CBPR) and will engage with their communities to get feedback and input about the CHA. These organizations will assist in facilitating community forums and focus groups, interviewing community participants, and collecting survey data. All engagements with the community will be done in culturally and linguistically appropriate ways.

Folks can provide feedback and input through the community forums and focus groups that are led by various community-based organizations (CBOs) in Riverside County.

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