Community assessment to identify and prioritize problems of Hormoz Island, in the South of Iran

Community assessment is the process of collecting data about the community, identifying problems and prioritizing needs, with the participation of community members. The aim of this study was to identify and prioritize problems of Hormoz Island with the direct participation of local people.
This study was conducted based on North Carolina model and the study population were residents of the Hormoz Island in the south of Iran. The Problems of Island were identified through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with residents, key informants, and some local authorities. Then, using nominal group technique and ranking problems the priorities were identified. Criteria for selecting the priorities included the magnitude, consequences, solving easiness and urgency of the problem.
In the community assessment process, totally 64 problems were identified and classified in six domains including health, food security, environment, social problems, economic problems, and management and substructure issues. Identified problems in the environment domain was more extended than other domains. Also the results showed that from the twenty priorities, nine of them were in social and economic domains
Identified problems included a wide range and in order to solve them, intersectoral activities, support of managers and administrators, and community participation is essential. Moreover, community assessment provide opportunities for active participation of community members and provide information for decision making.