Method of conducting literature review

Our initial objective was to perform a literature review of studies/publications assessing the CHA process to identify factors/criteria for a useful CHA process. We found very few studies/publications that were evaluative in nature and made some judgment regarding the usefulness of CHA characteristics. Therefore, we used the opportunity to also present key characteristics of a range of CHAs to provide a springboard for discussion about potential strengths and weaknesses. This review was conducted in mid-2004.

After a review of the available bibliographic sources, we searched the Medline and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) databases going back to the 1980s. We used the search phrases "community assessment," "community health assessment," and "CHA." When we uncovered relatively few references using these terms, we searched on a variety of loosely-related terms, using the authors' knowledge of the public health literature.

Additionally, we reviewed the websites of a number of state and local public health agencies (LPHAs), along with Federal health agency sites, focusing on those that resulted from a search for the phrases "community assessment," "community health assessment," and "CHA." We also accessed the websites of a number of state health departments to identify any statewide CHA models. We sought to gather information about a wide range of CHAs and CHA users in the United States, including the experiences of communities that vary in size, population, rural vs. urban location, and geographic distribution. Given the objectives of this review, we did not seek to conduct an exhaustive or representative search, identifying "all" or a random sample of the CHAs in the country. Rather, we reviewed documents until we believed that we were unlikely to learn anything new from additional searches about potential dimensions of usefulness. Finally, we include several brief descriptions of New York counties' CHA processes. We requested summaries from local health department representatives that sit on the advisory group for the New York Community Health Assessment project. As a whole, we believe that this search strategy has captured a broad range of processes, CHA content, and CHA findings, and most importantly, gave us many ideas about what makes a CHA useful.