Community Assessment & Intervention Flashcards

A practitioner conducting a participatory action research (PAR) project must ensure community members are:

Answer: Co-investigators who shape research questions, methods, and use of findings

PAR is distinguished by genuine co-ownership: community members collaborate in designing, conducting, analyzing, and acting on the research.

In community assessment, 'windshield surveys' are used to:

Answer: Gather observational data on physical and social conditions by systematically driving or walking through a community

Windshield surveys provide systematic observational data on housing conditions, public spaces, resources, and social activity visible from the street.

Which community intervention approach uses trained community members to deliver health education and social support to their peers?

Answer: Community health worker / lay health advisor model

Community health workers and lay health advisors leverage trusted insider status to bridge professional services and underserved community members.

A sociological practitioner wants to assess whether a food desert intervention changed residents' food access behaviors. Which research design provides the strongest causal evidence?

Answer: Quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design with a comparison community

A quasi-experimental pre-post design with a comparison group controls for temporal trends and confounds, providing stronger causal inference than post-only or qualitative designs.

When a community intervention program shows positive outcomes only for White participants but not for residents of color, the practitioner should FIRST:

Answer: Disaggregate outcome data by race and investigate differential program reach and cultural fit

Disaggregating data by race and examining differential reach, recruitment, and cultural appropriateness is essential for identifying and addressing equity gaps.

The concept of 'community readiness' in intervention planning refers to:

Answer: A community's existing stage of awareness, motivation, and capacity to address a specific issue

Community readiness models (e.g., Tri-Ethnic Center model) assess stages from no awareness to professionalization to match intervention intensity to community capacity.

A practitioner is designing an intervention to address domestic violence in an immigrant community. Culturally competent practice requires:

Answer: Collaborating with community cultural brokers to adapt materials and service delivery

Culturally competent intervention involves adapting evidence-based approaches with community cultural brokers to ensure linguistic and cultural relevance without abandoning efficacy.