Resources to Conduct a Needs Assessment
You can find data for your needs assessment in many places. Click on each heading below to learn more.
Existing internal health system or organizational data like the number of requests for
interpreters can help you figure out how many of your patients speak languages other than English.
You can fill in gaps in your data by standardizing your data collection efforts. For example, you
can ask patients about their language needs on your in-take forms.
Consult U.S. Census data for information about languages spoken in your community. The Behavioral
Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) and other survey data can help you understand needs in your community.
CMS OMH has developed
a report
on the language needs of Medicare populations that highlights Census
data from the American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample (ACS PUMS). A
2018 article
in the journal Health Equity also analyzed this data.