Executive Summary

This document is a result of a community diagnosis of Warrenton, North Carolina, a community located in Warren County. A community diagnosis is a research project that aims to assess the strengths and weaknesses of and help identify future directions for a community. In essence, a community diagnosis seeks to understand communities and the people who live and work there.

The community diagnosis of Warrenton was completed by five graduate students in the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In order to better understand Warrenton, the students collected secondary data about the area's history, economy, demographics, education, income, and health indicators.

To gain a more in-depth view of Warrenton, the team of students conducted qualitative interviews with service providers and focus groups with community members. These discussions helped the team further assess community strengths, weaknesses, and future directions. Between November 2000 and March 2001, nine face-to-face interviews and five focus groups were completed. The University of North Carolina's Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved this interview process. The interviewees and focus group participants were individuals recommended by our preceptor, Mary Marrow, or by other interviewees.

After analyzing secondary and qualitative data, the team held a community meeting in Warren County on April 24, 2001 to present the findings. This meeting was planned and conducted with the help of the Warren County Planning Committee, a group of community members and service providers interested in bringing about change in Warrenton and Warren County.

Findings were separated into major themes considered to be of importance to the people of Warrenton and Warren County. The team identified Economics, Recreation, Education, Transportation, Sense of Community and Collaboration, Politics and the People, and Race Relations as the themes that emerged from the interviews and focus groups. The purpose of this document is to summarize the findings of the Warrenton Community Diagnosis.

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Defining the Community