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Previous / Next by Cathy Parkes June 11, 2021 Updated: April 05, 2022 What is a windshield survey?A Windshield Survey is a survey performed by health professionals to collect data by literally driving around and look out their windshield to assess people and environment. Health professionals use this data to develop a Community Health Plan. Related Posts
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One way to get a sense of a community is to drive or walk around it, observing and taking note of its characteristics. These windshield and walking surveys can be an important part of a community assessment. In this section, we’ll describe them in more detail, and discuss how to conduct one successfully. What are windshield and walking surveys?Windshield surveys are systematic observations made from a moving vehicle. Walking surveys are systematic observations made on foot. Either or both can help you better understand either the community in general or a specific condition or aspect of it. Windshield surveys are particularly useful when the area you want to observe is large, and the aspects you’re interested in can be seen from the road. A walking survey might be a better choice when you’re seeking to understand things that are harder to see from a moving vehicle. Windshield and walking surveys can be used to assess general community needs – to estimate the poverty level, for example – or to examine more specific facets of the community’s physical, social, or economic character. Some possibilities:
Why would you conduct windshield and walking surveys?
When should you conduct windshield and walking surveys?Often in the Community Tool Box, the answer to the “When…?” question is that there are times when performing an action is politically, socially, or logistically more appropriate than others. Here, that’s not the case: windshield or walking surveys can be conducted whenever they’re needed. However, if you want to understand how people use the community, you’ll need to conduct your survey at a time – perhaps a number of different times – when they’re likely to be engaged in activity you can see. To get the best picture of the community, you may have to do a number of surveys at different times of the day, week, and/or year. Who should conduct windshield and walking surveys?The answer to this question depends on a number of factors. How large is the area to be surveyed? How many times will surveys be conducted? Is this a participatory research project? Will you be conducting surveys in teams or as individuals? A small neighborhood or rural village might be adequately surveyed in one day by a single person, whereas a large city might require several days with several teams of observers. If you’re engaged in participatory research, you might organize observers in teams, each of which has representatives of different ages, cultures, ethnicities, income levels, community sectors (business, government, health and community services), etc.
How do you conduct windshield and walking surveys?Windshield and walking surveys are similar in many ways, but there are some important differences. Here, we’ll give some guidelines that relate to both, and then look at each in turn. General guidelines for both windshield and walking surveysDetermine who will conduct the survey The reason this guideline is first is that you’re likely to get the best results if those who will be conducting the survey are involved in its planning. Their observations will be sharper if they understand what they’re looking for, which is most likely if they help to develop the survey.
Decide on the questions you want your survey to answer The questions you choose will determine the scope and structure of your survey. If your basic survey question is something like “What is the nature of the community?” then there will be a number of secondary questions to ask that will help you answer that first one. If your focus is much narrower, you may need only one question, such as, “Do most streets in the community have sidewalks?” or perhaps one question with more than one part: “How, by whom, and how much are public playgrounds used?” Decide on the areas you’ll include in your survey If your work is in a large city – New York, Tokyo, Cairo, etc. – you’re probably only concerned with a small section, or with a particular segment of the population. But you might want to survey other parts of the city as well, to get a sense of the city as a whole and fit that neighborhood or population in its context. Your choices will help shape your understanding of the community, so you should make them thoughtfully.What areas will best reflect the aspects of the community you want to know about? Which locations best relate to the work you want to do? Decide when you’ll conduct your survey Consider how the time of day, week day versus weekend, and the season will affect your survey. You may want to repeat your survey more than once in order to capture the differences between community conditions or activities at different times. Train the people who are going to conduct the survey Training here is fairly simple, but there are some important points to be covered:
What to examine in a general community assessment survey
Guidelines for a windshield survey
Guidelines for a walking survey
In SummarySometimes, the best survey can be a combination of walking and driving. You might survey the whole city or area in a vehicle, then use a walking survey to look closely at the area you’re most interested in. Or you might send out walking and driving teams to survey different aspects of a community or neighborhood. You’ll see different things and more detail on foot; you’ll cover more ground and get a broader perspective from a vehicle. But even once your survey is finished, your job isn’t done yet. You have to analyze what you’ve seen and decide how to use it. Some general questions you might want to consider:
Whether you’re starting an all-encompassing campaign to eliminate poverty in your community, or simply looking for good places to paint murals to stimulate community pride, a windshield or walking survey can be a good way to begin your effort. It will give you a view of the community that you can use to help you decide how to take your next steps effectively in order to address real needs and improve the quality of community life. What is the purpose of the windshield survey?A windshield survey is conducted from a car and provides a visual overview of a community. Conditions and trends in the community that could affect the health of the population are noted. This data provides background and context for working in the community or for conducting a community assessment.
What are the four components of a windshield survey?What are windshield and walking surveys?. The age, nature, and condition of the community's available housing.. Infrastructure needs – roads, bridges, streetlights, etc.. The presence or absence of functioning businesses and industrial facilities.. The location, condition, and use of public spaces.. What are common data sources for a community assessment?Data for determining community needs can be collected through surveys, questionnaires, focus groups, public meetings, direct observations, and interviews.
What is the community assessment?A community needs assessment identifies the strengths and resources available in the community to meet the needs of children, youth, and families. The assessment focuses on the capabilities of the community, including its citizens, agencies, and organizations.
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