Health needs assessment Flashcards
What is the planning cycle in needs assessment and planning?
Needs assessment -> planning -> implementation -> evaluation -> needs assessment
How is the planning cycle relevant to junior doctors?
As qualified doctors in the modern NHS, you will improve the health of patients in two main ways: [1] treating individual patients [2] influencing the services available to patients
What is the NICE definition of ‘need’ ?
The ability to benefit from an intervention
What is the definition of demand?
What people ask for
What is the definition of supply?
What is provided
What is the definition of a health needs assessment?
A systemic method for reviewing the health issues facing the population, leading to agreed priorities and resource allocation that will improve health and reduce inequalities
What is health need vs health care need?
Health need - need for health, concerns need in more general terms.
Healthy care need - need for health care, much more specific, ability to benefit from health care
How is health need measured?
Using mortality, morbidity, socio-demographic measures
How is health care need measured?
Depends on the potential of prevention, treatment and care services to remedy health problems
Who/what would a health needs assessment be carried out for?
A population or sub-group, a condition or an intervention
What is felt need?
Individual perceptions of variation from normal health
What is expressed need?
Individual seeks help to overcome variation in normal health (demand)
What is normative need?
Professional defines intervention appropriate for the expressed need
What is comparative need?
Comparison between severity, range of interventions and cost
What are the public health approaches to health needs assessment?
Epidemiological; comparative; corporate
What are the steps of the epidemiological approach to a health needs assessment?
Define problems; size of problems; services available; evidence base; models of care; existing services; recomendations
What would you look at when assessing the size of problems in the epidemiological health needs assessment?
Incidence and prevalence
What would you look at when assessing the services available in the epidemiological health needs assessment?
Prevention, treatment and care
What would you look at when assessing the evidence base in the epidemiological health needs assessment?
Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness
What would you look at when assessing the models of care in the epidemiological health needs assessment?
Quality and outcomes measures?
What would you look at when assessing the existing services in the epidemiological health needs assessment?
Unmet needs and services not needed
What are the problems with an epidemiological health needs assessment?
Required data may not be available; variable data quality; evidence base may be inadequate; does not consider felt needs of people affected
What does a comparative health needs assessment look at?
Compares the services received by a population with another; can be either spatial or social
What would a comparative health needs assessment examine?
Health status, service provision, service utilisation, health outcomes
What are health care outcomes?
Mortality, morbidity, quality of life, patient satisfaction
What are the problems with a comparative health needs assessment?
May not yield what the most appropriate level of provision or utilisation should be; data may not be available; data may be of variable quality; may be difficult to find a comparable population
What does a corporate heath needs assessment take into consideration?
Providers, professionals, patients, press, politicians, opinion leaders, commissioners
What are the problems with a corporate health needs assessment?
May be difficult to distinguish between need and demand; groups may have a vested interest; may be influenced by political agendas; dominant personalities may have undue influence
