Somerset’s Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (Draft)

This is the Somerset JSNA

The interactive dashboards below cover data for each section.

Interactive Dashboards

Population

facts and figures, life expectancy, population structure and growth, deprivation, key groups.

Beginning Well

birth and preschool issues, childhood vaccinations, child health, complex needs.

Developing Well

school aged children and young adults, early risks, self-harm substance misuse.

Living Well

major conditions, major risk factors and wider determinants / living conditions.

Staying Healthy

disease prevention and early diagnosis, screening and vaccination.

End of Life

frailty, falls, causes of death, premature mortality and suicide.

Evidence Base

Health Needs Assessments, Evidence Briefings, Factsheets and other documents giving further topic detail.

Localities

Data at smaller geographies like Primary Care Network (PCN), GP Practice, Ward, Local Community Network (LCN) and Fingertips Health Profiles.

About the JSNA

What is a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment?

The JSNA is a statutory responsibility (a legal ‘must do’) for all Health and Wellbeing Boards, including the Somerset Board.  It brings together information and evidence to give us a well-rounded picture of what it is like to live in Somerset.  It examines the health and care needs of the whole population to give a local context for health and social care service planning.

The JSNA identifies:

  • The wider social factors that can have an impact on people’s health and wellbeing including  housing, education, employment and the environment
  • Health inequalities, disparities and deprivation
  • Key issues for the whole county such as rurality, climate, fuel poverty, transport and an ageing population
  • Current service provision
  • Gaps in health and care services, documenting unmet need
  • The views and experiences of local people

Who is the JSNA for?

The main audience for the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) is the Somerset Board, who use it in strategy development. Health and social care commissioners also use it to help plan services. However, the JSNA can also be used as a source of evidence to support funding bids and business cases. This includes within the voluntary and community sectors, for educational and communication projects and by other professional and lay people who wish to get a more in-depth understanding of their local area.

How we ensure our Joint Strategic Needs Assessments are fit for purpose

Somerset’s JSNA has become an online information resource with webpage supported by interactive dashboards that now provide information through Power BI software. This helps us keep information up-to-date and useful for our new Somerset Council and NHS Somerset colleagues, as well as a wider group of stakeholders and individuals.