Needs Assessment Flashcards
What is a needs assessment?
A ‘need’ is a discrepancy or gap between ‘what is’ and ‘what should be’
A systematic set of procedures that are used to determine needs, examine their nature and causes, and set priorities for future action
Help program planning- identify and select the right job before doing the job right
What are the components of a Needs Assessment?
Identify target group;
Explore “what is”;
Gather/analyze data and prioritize “need”;
Make decisions to develop an action plan
Identify Target Group
First component of a needs assessment
Gather demographic info of target population (average age, gender, literacy level)
Explore “What is”
Second component of a needs assessment
Gather additional information (Quality of life concerns; Common leisure time activities; Health data (if applicable); Preexisting knowledge, attitudes, beliefs related to specific topic)
Investigate what is already known
Identify major concerns based on information
What are some other influencing factors when considering “what is”?
Environment (Housing, education, socioeconomic status, pollution, etc)
Behavior (Diet, exercise, smoking/alcohol/drug use, etc)
Genes (Inherited health/disease potential)
Healthcare (Primary, secondary & tertiary prevention)
Analyze data and prioritize “need”
Third component in needs assessment.
List concerns in rank order of importance
Reach consensus on the goals (desired outcomes) of greatest importance to the target group
Make Decisions (to develop an action plan)
Fourth component of a needs assessment.
Generate and examine potential solutions to each area of need
Develop an action plan to address the selected areas of need
What are assessments from PREECEDE-PROCEDE?
Social Assessment
Epidemiological Assessment
Educational/Ecological Assessment
Social Assessment
Assessment from PREECEDE-PROCEDE
Expand understanding of people through objective and subjective sources of information
Expand understanding of the community
Multiple data collection activities: interviews, surveys, focus groups, observation, concept mapping
Gather community needs and desires while considering problem solving capacity, strengths, resources and readiness to change
Epidemiological Assessment
Assessment from PREECEDE-PROCEDE
Identify specific health problems/behaviors that contribute to or impact quality of life
Select health problems, issues or goals on which the program will focus
Uncover behavioral and environmental factors most likely to influence identified priority health concerns
Translate priorities into measurable objectives for the program being developed
Educational and Ecological Assessment
Assessment from PREECEDE-PROCEDE
Classify factors into categories:
Asses relative importance and changeability
What are the categories that educational and ecological assessment puts factors into?
Predisposing factors: antecedents to behavioral change that provide motivation for the behavior change
Enabling factors: antecedents to behavioral or environmental change that allow motivation or environmental policy to be realized
Reinforcing factors: follow a behavior and provide continuing reward for sustaining the behavior
