Office of Community Health | Needs

Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA)

Understanding Community Health Needs

Boston Children’s conducts a comprehensive community health needs assessment every three years as required by the Internal Revenue Service. The full report from the 2019 assessment can be foundhere. Key themes include how poverty impacts child and community health, access to stable and affordable housing, concerns about food access and insecurity, and the importance of prevention and focus on early childhood. Health issues of concern for families continue to be around asthma, obesity, and mental/behavioral health. The findings inform the direction ofBoston Children's Strategic Implementation Plan,which outlines how the hospital will use its resources and partner with others to address those themes and improve community health. This process also ensures that the hospital is utilizing its resources and leveraging community partnerships in the most effective way. The assessment was approved by the Boston Children's Board of Trustees in the Fall of 2019.

In 2019, Boston Children’s conducted a community health needs assessment to identify the health-related needs, strengths, and resources available to children, youth, families, and residents in Boston — specifically the neighborhoods of Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, Mattapan, Mission Hill, and Roxbury. The assessment also looked at those living in the communities served by Boston Children’s locations outside of Boston, which include Lexington, North Dartmouth, Peabody, Waltham, and Weymouth.

Boston Children’s 2019 assessment also included data from theBoston Collaborative Community Health Needs Assessment, also known as the Boston CHNA-CHIP Collaborative. This assessment included a wide range of Boston stakeholders — community organizations, community development corporations, health centers, hospitals, and the Boston Public Health Commission. It was the first large-scale collaborative city-wide assessment and plan conducted in Boston. While community health assessment and planning work are often conducted by individual organizations, the Boston CHNA-CHIP Collaborative aligns and coordinates resources between multi-sector stakeholders across the city. Boston Children’s was a founding member and staff participated in the Steering Committee and work groups.

Details about this processand the findings can be found in thefull report.

2019 Community Health Needs Assessment Materials

A comprehensive assessment is only one way that Boston Children’s works to understand health needs. The staff from the Office of Community Health are always listening and learning from others about how the hospital can use its expertise to support community health.Boston Children’s welcomes comments on its most recently completed community health needs assessment and implementation strategy. Comments may be submitted by email toTalkToUs@childrens.harvard.eduor by mail to Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Avenue, BCH 3173, Boston, MA 02115. Attention: Shari Nethersole, MD, Executive Director, Office of Community Health.

Report
Summary
Evaluation Report
Community Health Benefits and Strategic Implementation Plan

2013
Report
Community Health and Benefits Plan

2009
Report