Writing a report on your community survey

Your community survey has generated a large amount of survey data. Analysis of the results forms the basis of the report that you will write, summarising the findings and making recommendations for tackling the health problems in your community. This report is called the community profile. The report should address the directives of the health managers at district and strategic levels, and also refer to the interests of key members of the community who are opinion leaders and 'gatekeepers' locally.

Before you start writing your report, you should make a plan of what you intend to write. Use the report headings, described in the following sections, and jot down a few notes under each of them to guide you when you come to write the full report. You will also need to check that you have gathered together all the data and that it has been processed and analysed appropriately. Consider the best way to present your data, for example, using tables or graphs for numerical data; if you have qualitative data, you may want to include a few direct quotes that illustrate a point you want to make. Spend some time thinking about the findings and what they reveal. Can you relate the findings to any reports or documents you have read about community health? Think about your possible conclusions and recommendations and check they relate to the original objectives. Considering each section of the report in turn and planning the contents will make the task of writing it much easier.