How to Conduct a Rapid Community Assessment

A guide to help you understand your community's needs around vaccination

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Rapid community assessment (RCA) is a process for quickly collecting community insights about a public health issue in order to inform program design. The assessment involves reviewing existing data and conducting community-based interviews, listening sessions, observations, digital listening, and surveys.

On this page, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shares an assessment guide and tools for those who wish to better understand their community’s needs regarding vaccine acceptance and uptake among adults, adolescents, and children.

Why Should You Conduct a Rapid Community Assessment?
  • To identify communities at risk for low vaccine uptake among adults, adolescents, or children.
  • To understand what communities are thinking about vaccines for adults, adolescents, and children, and plan for potential solutions to increase confidence and uptake.
  • To identify community leaders, trusted messengers, and other important channels through which you can reach communities.
  • To identify areas of intervention and prioritize potential intervention strategies to increase vaccine confidence and uptake.
RCA Guide and Addendums
Rapid Community Assessment Guide 2023
Full Rapid Community Assessment Guide
RCA Guide Addendum Tribal Communities
Addendum: Considerations for Conducting Rapid Community Assessment in Tribal Communities
RCA Guide Addendum Adolescent
Addendum: Considerations for Conducting Rapid Community Assessment in Adolescent Populations and Digital Contexts
RCA Guide Addendum Farm Workers
Addendum: Considerations for Conducting Rapid Community Assessment in Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Communities
RCA Guide Addendum RIM
Addendum: Considerations for Conducting Rapid Community Assessment with Refugee, Immigrant, and Migrant Communities
Rapid Community Assessment Toolkit
PRINTOUTS

Download, edit, or print Word versions of the tools: RCA Toolkit

RCA Toolkit includes:

  • Vaccine Efforts Learning Template
  • Implementation Guide for Community Interviews and Listening Sessions
  • Observation
  • Intercept Interviews
  • Digital Listening and Monitoring Tools
  • Insights Synthesis Tool
Additional Resources