Alisa,
Thank you for your question. There are number of tools that I would suggest regarding community health assessments. For starters, please consult Chapter 3 of the Community Toolbox for a wealth of information on different methods, measures and strategies. You may also want to consult the Association for Community Health Improvement Community Health Assessment Toolkit. The Public Health Institute released a nice report on Best Practices for Community Health Needs Assessment and Implementation Strategy Development.
As you consider these examples, I'd strongly encourage you to incorporate ways to engage multiple stakeholders within your community and use qualitative data alongside quantitative measures. Many community health assessment processes have prioritized quantitative measures that are often costly, lack the ability to add new information and are duplicative of other existing data sources (e.g. hospital utilization data). Working with a group of stakeholders to identify "what we know" and "what we need to know", can help you prioritize the type of data collection you invest in.
Best of luck on your assessment process. Community health assessments can be valuable tools for engaging stakeholders and developing collective understanding and activity to improve public health.
