Assessing community needs is part of the ongoing process of program planning in many types of health, education and social service agencies. For several decades, public health professionals have conducted needs assessments to facilitate the design, implementation and evaluation of a variety of disease prevention and health promotion programs. This course provides students with the opportunity to focus their thinking on why and how to conduct needs assessments. Basic concepts and practice methods are reviewed. The course is based on selected professional publications and the experiences of the instructor.