Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA)

Every three years, a JSNA summary presents an up-to-date understanding of health and wellbeing in Herefordshire.  It is based on needs assessments and other important pieces of analysis that have taken place in the last three years, where possible placing them in the context of the latest published data.  The latest (2024) summary can be downloaded from the related documents box.

What is a JSNA?

The council and local NHS Integrated Care System (ICS) have a statutory duty under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 to produce a JSNA, which should reflect our local circumstances. The JSNA is a continuous process of assessment of the current and future health and social care needs of the local community that can be influenced by the council, NHS and local partners.

A JSNA is the means by which local leaders work together to understand and agree the needs of all local people. It informs the Joint Local Health and Wellbeing Strategy (JHWBS), which sets out priorities for collective action. Responsibility for the JSNA rests with the Herefordshire Health and Wellbeing Board.

Herefordshire’s JSNA process is made up of routine monitoring, a rolling programme of needs assessments, and overarching documents (such as the three-yearly summary and annual Director of Public Health Reports), acting as a resource for all those working to improve the health and wellbeing of residents.  The JSNA covers the wider building blocks of health that impact on our communities’ health and wellbeing, and local assets that can help to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities.  It looks at the whole population, ensuring that mental health receives equal priority to physical health, and identifies those areas where Herefordshire is significantly different to nationally, where things have changed recently, or which are JHWBS priorities.

The Understanding Herefordshire website also forms part of the evidence base for the JSNA.