Planning a health fair should begin with having a specific group of people in mind, knowing their needs, identifying missed opportunities, and having an interest in working with and for that community. It is recommended to be familiar with the community of interest where the event is expected to be held. Having this familiarity will facilitate an understanding of its residents, the neighborhoods, their history, and the problems they may face. The health fair can help ease the concerns of the community by providing education, information on available resources, and basic health screenings all in one area.
H.O.P.E.+ example: When choosing a particular location in El Paso, we needed to educate ourselves in what are the needs within this community. We began our first health fair in Central El Paso, which has a nonprofit homeless shelter. We found that having a health fair at this organization would allow not only residents of the shelter but those who may live around the area to seek services and information that is available. The next fairs continued exploring the ever-changing needs of the communities in El Paso. Rural areas with limited resources, limited transportation, and lower access to health services. Northeast El Paso with a large number of active military residents, veterans, and a growing home-free population. Segundo Barrio area which has a rich cultural history and in walking distance of the Mexico border and has faced many structural challenges in the past. Throughout the health fairs, we have found that lack of education, insurance, income, documentation status, and citizenship are a few barriers to accessing healthcare. A large number of people attending the health fair were connected to health and psychosocial services and followed up by Community Health Workers.
Once the community has been assessed and its needs identified, more concrete plans may be established. Having an idea in mind of the population that will be served will guide the location and the services you provide for them.
The H.O.P.E.+ model will need to be adapted to your community and their needs. With our targeted population being the home-free, we began looking for those resources necessary for the well-being of these individuals. After being able to get support from agencies that provide assistance to these specific needs, we were able to expand and looked for agencies that provided services beyond these priority needs.
If your targeted population are women, infants, children, and families these are some of the services you need to keep in mind that would best fit their needs.
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