Rural communities often face increased health disparities when compared to their urban counterparts in the United States. Limited access to education, employment, housing, services, transportation, and other resources are among the barriers rural residents face to accessing and engaging in healthcare services. Identifying, developing, and connecting to resources within a community can help allay treatment gaps and meet the need for a population that is historically underserved.
Asset mapping refers to the general process of identifying and gathering information about a community’s assets. An asset is any resource or strength found already within a community which can be used to uncover effective solutions, to promote social inclusion, and improve the health and well-being of its citizens. Inventorying resources already available makes it easier to coordinate and increase accessibility to care while also providing a framework for effective community planning and development. Knowing what is available can help shape important decisions such how best to allocate finite funding within a rural community.
In addition, asset mapping promotes community involvement, ownership, and empowerment. It is a strengths-based approach which relies on the core belief that good things already exist within a community. Asset mapping focuses on what a neighborhood has, instead of its deficits, and assumes that many solutions to a community’s problems already exist within the community. Approaching communities from an asset-based perspective empowers its members to recognize and utilize their own strengths and to see their community through a positive lens.
In this guide, each step of the process of developing and utilizing a community asset map is reviewed with accompanying worksheets and resources. The ultimate goal of this tool is to work with rural stakeholders to maximize resource utilization, identify and address gaps in services, and leverage indigenous community assets to build stronger rural communities. (author introduction)