Holistic Approach to Addressing Community Needs in Rural Communities

The purpose of this study was to assess health of a rural Texas community in efforts to better understand and develop a plan of action for developing community intervention for increasing availability of human resources. Researchers asked various questions to understand the availability and accessibility of resources within a rural community using a community needs assessment approach. Participants were recruited by the researchers directly within the community using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. The sample size included 361 participants in a rural community. The overall quality of life for the rural participants was slightly lower than what researchers considered to be healthy. Participants also indicated that the current resources within the rural community did not meet the needs for mental health (54%; n = 195), physical health (46.8%; n = 169), or social services (55.4%; n = 200). Implications for such findings suggest the need for strength-based collaboration and services informed by the communities themselves