Health Needs Assessment

Question 1

What is the planning cycle of health improvement?

Answer 1

Needs assessment -> planning -> implementation -> evaluation -> needs assessment -> etc

Question 2

What is meant by need, demand, and supply?

Answer 2

Need - ability to benefit from an intervention.
Supply - the intervention provided.
Demand - what people ask for.

Question 3

What is the epidemiological approach to health needs assessment?

Answer 3

Based on epidemiological information & research:
- prevalence & incidence
- available services & their costs
- effectivenesss / cost-effectiveness
- population data
- survey data

Question 4

What are some drawbacks to the epidemiological approach to health needs assessment?

Answer 4

• re-enforces a biomedical model
• reliant on quality and availability of data
• requires suitably trained staff for data analysis

Question 5

What is the corporate approach to health needs assessment?

Answer 5

• collection of knowledge and views of stakeholders (e.g. focus group, interviews)
• based on the demands & perspectives of interested parties
• recognises importance of knowledge from people involved in the service

Question 6

What are some drawbacks of the corporate approach to health needs assessment?

Answer 6

• hard to differentiate between need and demand
• hard to distinguish science from vested interest
• stakeholders may be influenced by political agendas

Question 7

What is the comparative approach to health needs assessment?

Answer 7

• compares health performance between communities / disease groups / service providers
• measures variation in cost & service use

Question 8

What are some drawbacks of the comparative approach to health needs assessment?

Answer 8

• hard to find similar comparator
• knowledge of optimum service is not known
• usage rates may vary for unknown reasons
• hard to demonstrate link between usage rates and health outcomes

Question 9

What are the benefits of a health needs assessment?

Answer 9

• strengthens community involvement in decision making
• improved team & partnership working
• professional development of skills
• improved patient care
• better use of resources

Question 10

What are the challenges of a health needs assessment?

Answer 10

• professional boundaries may prevent information sharing
• problems accessing data
• difficult to access target population
• balancing professional vs public views
• balancing needs & demands with resources