Rapid appraisal in an urban setting, an example from the developed world

Rapid Appraisal has been used as a method to understand communities' own perceptions of their priority needs. It can be used as a tool for formulating joint action plans between communities and service planners and managers. It can also be used to complement quantitative methods of assessing needs by more in-depth qualitative understanding of socio-cultural perspectives. In the example described in this paper Rapid Appraisal is used both as action research and as a qualitative tool in order to define health and social needs of an urban, deprived community in England.