Joint Strategic Needs Assessment

What is a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment?

A Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) is a way Primary Care Trusts (PCTs), local authorities and other public sector partners work together to understand the current and future health and well-being needs of the local population and identify our future priorities. The JSNA is a statutory responsibility of the Director of Public Health, Director of Children’s Services and Director of Adult Social Services.

The JSNA is not just about health and personal social care services - it is also about the wider aspects of health and well-being including poverty, employment, education, housing and the environment. The purpose of the JSNA is to use the information gathered to identify local priorities and support us to commission services and interventions that are based on need. This helps us achieve better health and well-being outcomes and reduce health inequalities in Dorset.

Providing analysis of data to show the health and wellbeing status of local communities, defining where inequalities exist and using local knowledge alongside evidence of effectiveness of interventions, the JSNA informs more effective commissioning for health and well-being in both the short and long term. This is Dorset’s third completed round of JSNA and builds on the first and second JSNA, completed in 2008 and 2009 and we continue to build on the success of previous years.

The JSNA is regularly updated and is a living and interactive web-based resource and provided for all the people of Dorset, the voluntary sector, Dorset County Council, the six district councils and NHS organisations including Trusts.