Chapter 14 Assessment of Obesity Risk in the Community

Chapter 14 – Assessment of Obesity Risk in the Community

Questions

1. Define a ‘community’. 2. Describe the process of sampling in community assessment. 3. Identify the five major methodological approaches used in community assessment. 4. Explain three novel approaches to community assessment.

Understanding Obesity: Biological, Psychological and Cultural Influences. Edited by Sharon Akabas, Sally Ann Lederman and Barbara J. Moore. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Chapter 14 – Assessment of Obesity Risk in the Community

Answers

1. Communities are generally defined by some geographic boundaries such as villages, towns, or cities, but they can also be defined using smaller geographic limits such as certain zip codes, neighborhoods, or census tracks. Communities are more broadly defined as groups of people who share some common characteristics and have existing relationships or have opportunity for interaction). Therefore, we don’t have to follow a strict geographic definition and we can extend our definition to worksites, schools, and even to patients that have some common disease or disability such as diabetes. In some circumstances, one may need to approach community leaders and members to get more specific information and arrive at a consensus definition.

2. In most circumstances, it is not feasible to study all individuals of a given community so a sample of the population is selected and measurements are performed on those individuals only. The method used to select participants that are representative of the population in the community is referred to as sampling. Often investigators recruit volunteers for their studies (a “convenience” sample) results from studies using convenience samples are difficult to generalize to the rest of the population. There are four basic sampling methods (39): Simple, random sampling, in which each individual has the same probability (chance) to be included in the sample; systematic sampling, in which participants are selected from a list of potential participants at regular intervals (every third, fourth, or tenth individual); stratified sampling, in which the population is first separated into groups (e.g., females and males) and then simple, random sampling is conducted separately for each group; and cluster sampling, by which groups (e.g., schools, households) are first sampled and then only people in those groups are included in the study.

3. The five major methodological approaches used in community assessment include: 1) Cross-Sectional Studies, 2) Case-Control Studies, 3) Cohort Studies, 4) Ecological Studies and 5) Community Intervention Studies

4. Qualitative research has been used for several decades in research to help understand behaviors, attitudes, and perceptions related to health. Investigators use direct observation, interview key people, and take life histories to identify how and why certain behaviors or processes occur. In more recent years, a new methodology is being developed to integrate quantitative and qualitative research. The rationale for conducting such mixed methods studies is to provide a more comprehensive view of a public health problem when neither a

Understanding Obesity: Biological, Psychological and Cultural Influences. Edited by Sharon Akabas, Sally Ann Lederman and Barbara J. Moore. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. quantitative nor qualitative method used alone is sufficient to capture all of its dimensions.

Also, having stakeholders actively involved in the process of needs assessment and the development of preventive programs, as in community-based participatory research, may be best for community assessment.