Using Family Needs Assessments to Guide Place-Based Services for Vulnerable Families: Lessons From the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic created significant health, social and economic impacts, disproportionately affecting minority, immigrant and low-income communities. Agencies were challenged to rapidly address emerging needs, yet most operated on anecdotal information. This paper describes a community-informed family needs assessment in Miami, Florida, during November 2020–March 2021. It was conducted by a nonprofit agency collaborating with a university. The aims were to capture socio-economic, educational and health needs experienced during the early pandemic to inform place-based services. Eighty-one participants, mostly Hispanic, foreign-born parents, completed an anonymous online survey of pandemic experiences, with 15 parents participating in additional, in-depth focus group discussions. Utilizing a mixed methods approach, results show that perceived economic, educational and psychosocial needs often exceeded and complicated health impacts, with basic needs including food/housing assistance, occupational programmes and online support groups. By coordinating the response around identified needs, this community–academic partnership strengthened and targeted their place-based public health response, an approach that can serve to guide other communities.