Community Needs Assessment

A needs assessment is a process to systematically gather data and information to understand the needs and experiences of different communities. Examples of needs assessment activities include:

• community surveys (see the What Is the Community Health & Aging Survey? below),
• secondary data gathering from other sources (e.g., Census or local health department),
• focus groups
• community listening sessions

After these activities are completed, all the information is analyzed and organized from different angles to develop goals and objectives that can be acted upon in different ways to better tailor services and outreach to communities.

As part of the funding requirements of the Older American’s for the programs and services that PCOA provides, a needs assessment must be done every four years to inform the Area Plan. This plan sets the goals and objectives for PCOA as an agency and for delivering the services that we provide. Basically, the Area Plan provides a recipe book for how services will be delivered and what goals need to be met!

PCOA is conducting a community survey, holding focus groups with community service providers throughout Pima County, and will be holding community listening sessions to hear directly from community members about what is important to them and the communities they represent.

The results of the Community Needs Assessment are shared with the State of Arizona, as they provide oversight for how the Area Plan is followed. Additionally, PCOA will create a Report to the Community which will be available to the public including anyone living in Pima County and beyond.

This community survey is being conducted with adults 50 years and older who live in Pima County. The survey covers a variety of topics such as issues or concerns someone could experience at home or in their neighborhood, health topics such as social connectedness, access to healthcare services, and so on. The survey is an important part of the Community Needs Assessment, as it is one of two ways that PCOA hears from community members like you.

If you are an adult who is 50 to 100+ and you live in Pima County, your voice is important in this process. We would also like it if you would let other adults 50+ in your community know about this survey. The more people we hear from, the better we will be able to understand the issues that different communities 50+ are experiencing.

You can complete the survey different ways:

• Online: Either click on the button toward the bottom of this page or scan the QR code with your cell phone or tablet.
• Paper: Please call 520.790.0504 or email help@pcoa.org so that staff can gather your contact information to mail you a survey. You can also drop by one of the PCOA office locations: 8467 E Broadway Blvd or 600 S Country Club Rd.
• Telephone: Please call 520.790.0504 so that you can be connected with someone at PCOA who can conduct the survey with you over the phone. You may also email help@pcoa.org to request assistance with the survey over the phone.

If you run into any issues when completing the survey, please do not hesitate to contact Gretchen Luhr at 520.790.0504.

Your survey data will not identify you in any way. It is anonymous. Each survey is given an ID number that allows us to know where we are hearing from people in Pima County, but it won’t identify anyone specifically. For surveys that are completed online, we will not be gathering IP (Internet Protocol) addresses. The only information we will know is the ID number autogenerated by SurveyMonkey, the date the survey was completed, and if the survey was completed through links shared on PCOA’s social media outlets or through fliers posted around the community or through clicking the link provided on this page. That’s it!

If you have any questions, we encourage you to reach out to us. Please call 520.790.0504 or email help@pcoa.org and ask for either Gretchen Luhr or Victor Quiros.

We would appreciate it if you would! You can share the website link that you are currently looking at now (needs.pcoa.org) or the QR code that follows. You can also let them know they can contact us directly to find out more (520.790.0504 or help@pcoa.org). Let your friends, family, and neighbors know how valuable their input is in shaping services for adults at mid-life and older!