Assets-oriented community assessment

Determining how to promote community health requires that community health workers first assess where the community stands. The authors maintain that Healthy Communities initiatives are better served by assets-oriented assess ment methods than by standard "problem-focused" or "needs-based" approaches . An assets orientation allows community members to identify, support, and mobilize existing community resources to create a shared vision of change, and encourages greater creativity when community members do address problem s and obstacles.