What is the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment?
The JSNA is a continuous process. The content below is to be archived and new content has been moved to new webpages, Joint Strategic Needs Assessment.
The Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) is a process by which local authorities and Clinical Commissioning Groups assess the current and future health, care and wellbeing needs of the local community to inform local decision making.
The JSNA:
- Characterises the health and wellbeing status of the local population
- Identifies inequalities
- Illustrates trends
- Describes local community views
- Highlights the key findings
Background to the JSNA
JSNAs were introduced by the Department of Health in April 2008 to strengthen joint working between the NHS (National Health Service) and local authorities.
The Health and Social Care Act 2012 awarded the responsibility for the JSNA and developing a Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy to Health and Wellbeing Boards, with the purpose of reducing inequalities and improving the health and wellbeing of the whole community.
Further guidance
- JSNA Toolkit: a springboard for action
- Statutory guidance on Joint Strategic Needs Assessments and Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategies
JSNA topics
1. Population
- Population size and characteristics
- Population Change
- Deprivation
- Life Expectancy
- Protected characteristics - Updated January 2022
2. Wider determinants of health
- Local economy and thriving communities
- Place
- Housing and homelessness
- Crime and community safety
- Social connectedness and isolation
- Road safety
3. Healthy lifestyles
- Healthy Eating
- Healthy Weight - Children and young people
- Healthy Weight - Adults
- Physical Activity
- Smoking
- Substance misuse - Children and young people
- Substance misuse in adults - alcohol
- Substance misuse in adults - drugs
- Sexual Health
4. Children, young people and their families
- Child Poverty
- Pregnancy and maternity
- Teenage Pregnancy
- Smoking in pregnancy
- Antenatal and newborn screening
- Low birth weight and prematurity
- Breastfeeding
- Perinatal mental health
- Early years development
- Education Section
- Special educational needs and disability
- Immunisations in children and young people
- Physical health of children and young people
- Mental health in children and young people
- Children's oral health
- Youth Offending Service (YOS)
- Early Help
- Young Carers
- Safeguarding - Contacts, Referrals, Children in Need Plans, Child Protection Plans and Looked after Children
- Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)
- Female genital mutilation (FGM)
5. Adults
- Burden of Disease
- Long-term conditions - Diabetes
- Cancer
- Communicable diseases
- Mental health and wellbeing in adults
- Oral health of adults
- Multi-morbidity
- Physical and sensory disability
- Long-term neurological conditions
- Autism
- Learning disability in adults
- Adult Carers
- Safeguarding adults and older people
- Adult Screening
6. Older people
- Frail older people
- Falls
- Dementia
- Learning disability in older people
- Winter pressures, including excess winter deaths