Community Needs Assessment of Village Opao, Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines Mauro Allan P. Amparado (1) Grace E. Colonia (2) University of Cebu Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue, Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines (1) Director, Community Awareness, Relations & Extension Services, UCLM; [email protected]; ORCID No. 0000-0002-2742-2508 (2) Faculty, College of Criminology, UCLM Abstract The conduct of extension services in partner communities addresses the fourth function of a university: community extension. It is essential for the university to provide opportunities of learning and assistance to residents in the community especially those who has no access to education or work opportunities. The lessons learned by students in the classroom and the knowledge and skills of teachers and non-teaching staff should cascade to partner communities. This descriptive quantitative survey conducted in 2016, sampled 100 mothers in Village Opao, Mandaue City, Cebu to ascertain the community needs assessment prior to implementation of extension activities. Village Opao, Mandaue City is officially adopted by University of Cebu Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue in 2016 as its second partner community. The research instrument was created by the researchers with questions on 4 sections: personal information, housing and environment, health, and community organizations. The mothers were purposively identified with the following inclusion criteria: 16 to 80 years old, with a child/with children and registered in the village as a voter. Descriptive statistics specifically mode was used. Researchers have identified that the sustainable programs of the university for Village Opao, Mandaue City shall include literacy, livelihood, backyard gardening, livestock raising, flooding, family planning, administration of tetanus toxoid, and community participation programs. Keywords: PRECEDE-PROCEED Model; Community Needs Assessment; Village Opao; Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines; Literacy; Livelihood Recommended citation: Amparado, M. A. P. & Colonia, Grace E. (2020). Community Needs Assessment of Village Opao, Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines. Cebu Journal of Teacher Education, 1(1), 83-100. Introduction University of Cebu Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue (UCLM), a higher education institution in the Philippines, lives up to its vision to democratize quality education, be the visionary and industry leader, and give hope and transform lives. A university has 4 functions: research, instruction, production, and community extension. As it addresses the 4th function of the university, UCLM extends its services to partner communities and organizations. In accordance with the pertinent provisions of Republic Act No. 7722 otherwise known as the Higher Education Act of 1994, and to further promote and enhance relevant and quality higher education in the country and the Commission on Higher Education Memorandum Order No. 48 Series of 1996, higher education institution must have a credible community extension program which may take the form of continuing education, application of research results, community service and the like (www.ched.gov.ph). Thus, in 2016, UCLM opened a new partnership with Village Opao, Mandaue City as its 2nd partner community. But before the institution can implement activities in the community, it is essential to assess the needs of the residents. A good community profile will ensure that the real needs of communities are addressed by development programs and projects. It involves research and systematic consultation with community stakeholders and project beneficiaries before the project is designed and implemented. Problems and needs must be identified and will involve the people who are meant to benefit from the project design. Potential problems if identified early, and a good assessment will help measure reactions, preferences and priorities before any final decisions are made (Cuevas, 2007). The theoretical background of this study is anchored on Lawrence Greene and Phil Rabonowitz' PRECEDE- PROCEED model that provides a comprehensive structure for assessing health and quality-of-life needs and for designing, implementing, and evaluating health promotion and other public health programs to meet those needs. Precede is an acronym that stands for (Predisposing, Reinforcing, and Enabling Constructs in Educational Diagnostic and Evaluation) which outlines a diagnostic planning process to assist in the development of targeted and focused public health programs. Proceed stands for Policy, Regulatory, and Organizational Constructs in Educational and Environmental Development which guides the implementation and evaluation of the programs designed using Precede (Dolan, 2001). The Precede model consist of five phases. Phase one is the Social Diagnosis. It involves determining the quality of life of social problems and needs of a given population. This is best accomplished by involving the people in a self-study of their needs and aspirations, thus subjectively defined. The kinds of social problems a community experience are a practical and accurate barometer of its quality of life (Kreuter, 200). The second phase is the Epidemiological Diagnosis. It consists of identifying the health determinants that may contribute to the social goals or problems identified in phase 1. Using available data, information generated by appropriate investigations and epidemiological and medicine findings, the planner ranks the several health problems identified. These data may include disability, discomfort, fertility, fitness, morbidity, mortality, physiological risk factors and their dimensions (distribution, duration, functional level, incidence, longevity and prevalence). Phase 3 is the Behavioral and Environmental Diagnosis. This involves analyzing the behavioral and environmental determinants of the health problems. Because these are the risk factors that the invention is tailored to affect, they must be very specifically identified and carefully ranked. Environmental factors are those external to an individual, often to support the behavior, health or quality of life of that person or others affected by the person's actions. Behavioral factors include compliance, consumption patterns, coping, preventive actions, self-care and utulization. These indicators can be expressed in the dimensions of frequency, persistance, promptness, quality and range. Environmental indicators include economic, physical, services, and social; their dimensions include access, affordability and equity (Kreuter, 2000). In phase 4 which is the Educational and Organizational Diagnosis, the factors that predispose to, reinforce, and enable the behaviors and lifestyles are identified. Predisposing factors include a person's or population's knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, values, and perceptions that facilitate or hinder motivation for change. Enabling factors are those skills, resources, or barriers that can help or hinder the desired behavioral changes as well as environmental changes. They can be viewed as vehicles or barriers, created mainly by societal forces or systems. Facilities and personal or community resources may be ample or inadequate, as income or health insurance, and laws and statues may be supportive or restrictive. The skills required for a desired behavior to occur also qualify as enabling factors. Enabling factors thus include all the factors that make possible desired change in behavior or in the environment. Reinforcing factors are the rewards received, and the feedback the learner receives from others following adoption of the behavior (Spradley, 2001). Phase 5 is the Administrative and Policy Diagnosis. It involves ascertaining which health promotion, health education and/or policy-related interventions would best be suited to encouraging the desired changes in the behaviors or environments and in the factors that support those behaviors and environments (Kreuter, 2000). The PROCEED model is composed of four additional phases. In phase six, the interventions identified in phase five are implemented. Phase 7 entails process evaluation of those interventions. Phase 8 involves evaluating the impact of the interventions on the factors supporting behavior, and on behavior itself. The 9th and last phase comprises outcome evaluation, that is, determining the ultimate effects of the interventions on the health and quality of life of the population (Kreuter, 2000). In actual practice, PRECEDE and PROCEED function in a continuous cycle. Information gathered in Precede guides the development of program goals and objectives in the implementation phase of PROCEED. This same information also provides the criteria against which the success of the program is measured in the evaluation phase of Proceed. In turn, the date gathered in the implementation and evaluation phase of PROCEED clarify the relationships examined in PRECEDE between the health or quality-of-life outcomes, the behaviors and environment that influence them, and the factors that lead to the desired behavioral and environmental changes. These data also suggest how programs may be modified to more closely reach their goals and targets (Kreuter, 2000). Related Studies In the study of Amparado, Camayra, Dorio Jr. & Patindol, the researchers profiled Village Looc, Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines. Data was collected in 2008 and 2016. The study showed that in 2008, the community residents’ needs were solid waste management, literacy, and livelihood programs. In 2016, the needs were solid waste management, literacy, health education, greening management,