Journal of School of Public Health and

Background and Aim:  Community assessment is a process by which a clear picture of the community assets, strengths, resources, and needs is obtained with active participation of the community itself, followed by prioritization of the community needs and formulating strategies and programs to solve the problems. This study was conducted to identify and prioritize problems and needs of the Azerbaijan Borough in Tehran city, Iran, with active participation of the people.

Materials and Methods: This study was conducted to determine the attitudes and beliefs of the community members about their community needs and problems. The study was based on a model designed in North Carolina, US. In this model, the assessment process is performed in eight steps.  In the first seven steps problems are identified and prioritized, and in step 8 a plan of action is developed to deal with the problem selected.

Results: A total of 40 problems were identified and divided into several groups. The most important problems were as follows: social problems environmental health problems educational and cultural problems, civil rights and urban services distribution and use of drugs lack of family counseling centers shortage of parks and playgrounds for neighborhood children lack of supervision by municipal contractors on urban cleaning and lack of mental health services specially for the elderly.

Conclusion: Several types of problems, including health, as well as non-health - social, cultural and economic - problems were identified. Community assessment provides an appropriate opportunity for active participation of community members and makes available sufficient information for sound decision-making. Thus, community assessment can be regarded as a suitable technique for identifying and prioritizing community needs.