Background: Identification of health needs within Nigeria has often been done with a top-down approach where policy and funding determines what health needs to focus on for interventions. Communicable diseases such as malaria have been studied extensively however; lack of cohesiveness and continuity often derails the gains achieved.
Objectives: To work collaboratively with stakeholders in Ikot Ishie Community in identifying their health needs/assets.
Methodology: A community organizing exercise using Key Informant Interviews, observation and Focus Group Discussions (FGD) was implemented.
Findings/Results: As a community embedded in a malaria endemic area, people are aware of malarial signs and symptoms and can easily identify its management/preventive measures. Persistent self-diagnoses/treatment of malaria, lack of information about the causes, signs/symptoms of other conditions and poor patronage of the primary health centre for preventive and early diagnoses of diseases were the identified needs. Collaborative identification of needs/assets builds trust and ownership of interventions, encouraging continuity.
Keywords: Collaboration, Community ownership, Continuity, Diabetes, Malaria, Self-diagnoses
