The Use of Community Needs Assessment Data to Establish a High-Risk Profile for Negative Health Outcomes in the City of Fort Worth.

Community needs assessments are critical for targeting health care programs and public health policy. The relationship between socioeconomic status (SES), health behaviors and health outcomes are explored, demonstrating the use of community needs assessment data to establish a local high-risk profile. The City of Fort Worth 2003 Community Needs Assessment data was analyzed to test these hypotheses: There is a unique local relationship between SES indicators and health status; and, there is a similar relationship between health behaviors and health status. Statistical analyses demonstrated a correlation between SES and health status; however, no correlation was shown between health behaviors and health status. Recommendations include development of more reliable measurement tools.