The Joint Strategic Needs Assessment

​About us

On this page you can find information on:

• what we do
• who we are​
  
• our steering group
• how we work
• selecting focus topics
• how we use the findings

What we do

JSNA stands for “Joint Strategic Needs Assessment”. Our core goal is to understand the health and wellbeing needs of Islanders both now, and in the future to help Government make improvements.

We aim to:

• gather evidence to understand Islander’s health and wellbeing
• tell the story of local health needs: are there unmet needs? Are services available to those who need them most? This includes looking at broader factors that affect our health and wellbeing, including where we live, the conditions in which we work, our financial situation and our relationships with friends and family
• support action to improve Islander’s health and wellbeing by providing Government with the insights they need to improve services, and to seize opportunities to prevent health and wellbeing problems arising in the first place
• help plan for a healthier future by taking a strategic, forward-thinking perspective, considering how our Island is changing
• provide up to date resources and new information for Islanders about different focus topics

We are constantly evolving with the changing needs o​f our community and our ongoing development is a key part of the Population Health Prevention Strategy 2023 to 2027.

Who we are

We're made up of a a wide range of teams across government and the community. The Director of Public Health leads the JSNA, and brings together a diverse range of partners, including service providers and charities. 

We collect information from many sources, professionals input their specialist knowledge and Islanders are welcomed to contribute through public consultation.

The ambition for the JSNA to be a truly joint venture is shown in the membership of the JSNA Steering Group, who are responsible for overseeing our work.

Our steering group

Our steering group is chaired by Public Health, and includes representation from:

Our steering group provide leadership, overall strategic guidance and direction. They're responsible for overseeing our work, agreeing on which topic areas to focus on and making sure our findings drive improvements for Islanders. 

How we work

Information from different sources is brought together to form our evidence base. Our evidence base consists of: 

• core datasets and reports which are coordinated and regularly updated by the Public Health Intelligence team
• in depth research on focus topics which allows us to reveal deeper insights into the needs of Islanders. This involves looking at relevant data, consulting with the public, engaging with relevant professionals, looking at current services, best practice and latest international research on the topic

Over time, we will focus on a wide range of different focus topic areas.

​Selecting focus topics

Our steering group drive the selection of focus topics. We look at our existing evidence base along with input from Government departments and other organisations, to decide what our focus topics should be . 

Over time we'll cover a broad spectrum of important areas for our community. In the long term, evidence gathered on different topics will fit together to reveal a full picture of needs in Jersey.

How we use our findings

Our findings are available for everybody to explore and they are used by Government to make sure services are appropriate for the needs of our community. 

For example, the evidence will be used to inform strategic priorities for the Island’s future and to inform the specific actions Government choose to take to make improvements.

The clear understanding of need presented by our findings will also help organisations in the community who are working to improve lives for Islanders.