Where There Is No Doctor 2011
Sample Lists of Questions
To Help Determine Community Health Needs
and at the Same Time Get People Thinking
FELT NEEDS
What things in your people’s daily lives (living conditions, ways of doing things, beliefs,
etc.) do they feel help them to be healthy?
What do people feel to be their major problems, concerns, and needs—not only those
related to health, but in general?
HOUSING AND SANITATION
What are different houses made of? Walls? Floors? Are the houses kept clean? Is
cooking done on the floor or where? How does smoke get out? On what do people
sleep?
Are flies, fleas, bedbugs, rats, or other pests a problem? In what way? What do people
do to control them? What else could be done?
Is food protected? How could it be better protected?
What animals (dogs, chickens, pigs, etc.), if any, are allowed in the house?
What problems do they cause?
What are the common diseases of animals? How do they affect people’s health? What
is being done about these diseases?
Where do families get their water? Is it safe to drink? What precautions are taken?
How many families have latrines? How many use them properly?
Is the village clean? Where do people put garbage? Why?
POPULATION
How many people live in the community? How many are under 15 years old?
How many can read and write? What good is schooling? Does it teach children what
they need to know? How else do children learn?
How many babies were born this year? How many people died? Of what? At what
ages? Could their deaths have been prevented? How?
Is the population (number of people) getting larger or smaller? Does this cause any
problems?
How often were different persons sick in the past year? How many days was each
sick? What sickness or injuries did each have? Why?
How many people have chronic (long-term) illnesses? What are they?
How many children do most parents have? How many children died? Of what? At what
ages? What were some of the underlying causes?
How many parents are interested in not having any more children or in not having them
so often? For what reasons? (See Family Planning, p. 283.)
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