Empowering the Community to Identify and Prioritize Neighborhood Development Needs: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Background: The present study aimed to empower the community to identify and prioritize the needs for the health development of the Eskan neighborhood in Yazd province, Iran. Methods: This community-based participatory research (CBPR) was conducted in the Eskan neighborhood, Yazd. The project ‘neighborhood health improvement plan (Tabasom)’ was conducted, which included five steps (i.e., area identification, organization, empowerment, needs assessment and prioritization, and intervention and action). In the present paper, two steps, namely empowerment and needs assessment, are described. Results: The results revealed 10 high-priority problems in the Eskan neighborhood. The first problem with the highest priority was associated with waste management. Conclusions: According to the findings, empowering and educating individuals to detect the neighborhood problems led to the better identification of the problems, resulting in the further development of the neighborhood and the provision of more effective solutions by the authorities with the community participation.