Community Health Assessment and Group Evaluation (CHANGE) is a data-collection tool and planning resource for community members who want to make their community a healthier one. This tool walks community team members through the assessment process and helps define and prioritize possible areas of improvement. Having this information as a guide, community team members can create sustainable, community-based improvements that address the root causes of chronic diseases and related risk factors. It can be used annually to assess current policy, systems, and environmental change strategies and offer new priorities for future efforts.
Purpose of the CHANGE Tool
The purpose of the CHANGE Tool is to:
- Identify community strengths and areas for improvement.
- Identify and understand the status of community health needs.
- Define improvement areas to guide the community towards population-based strategies that create a healthier environment (e.g., increased physical activity, improved nutrition, reduced tobacco use and exposure, and chronic disease management).
- Assist with prioritizing community needs and consider appropriate allocation of available resources.
CHANGE Tool Benefits
- Allows local stakeholders to work together in a collaborative process to survey their community.
- Offers suggestions and examples of policy, systems, and environmental change strategies.
- Provides feedback to communities as they institute local-level change for healthy living.
Learn more and get started with CDC’s Community Health Assessment and Group Evaluation (CHANGE) Tool