An introduction By Jacob Coverstone Jcoverstone@aao.org I have no financial interest to disclose. Objectives Attendees will be able to:  Define Needs Assessment  Create and utilize an outline for conducting a Needs Assessment  Understand types of identified needs  Normative  Relative  Expressed  Perceived When do you conduct a Needs Assessment?  A Needs Assessment takes place before the activity is designed. Why do you conduct a Needs Assessment?  The purpose of a Needs Assessment is to make decisions regarding priorities for the program.  If you conduct a proper Needs Assessment, you will address or support 9 of the 22 Updated Criteria and 3 of 7 Essential Elements [C2, C3, C4, C6, C16, C18, C19, C21, C22, E2.1, E2.2, E2.3] Needs Assessments are about Evidence  Can you answer:  “what evidence do we have that our audience needs this education?”  “what evidence do we have that our solution will yield positive results?”  “what is the reason that we are offering education in this format?” “It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is” – Former President Bill Clinton  Definitions 1:  Gap  Need  Want  Assessment  Needs Assessment Definitions 1 • Gaps – The space between what currently exists and what should exist. • Needs are contributing factors – What needs to be resolved to help close a gap. – Needs often relate to barriers • Wants are possible solutions – A proposed means to filling the gap. • Assessment is the evaluation of needs, barriers and resources. Definitions 1, continued.  Needs Assessment is the process of identifying and measuring areas for improvement in a target audience, and determining the methods to achieve improvement. So important, it has its own slide. What goes into a Needs Assessment?  Normative data  Evaluations  Objectives  Opinion  Timelines  Barriers  Resources “What does it take to get your activity off the ground?” So… what is a Needs Assessment? Pre-Assessment Assessment Action Plan Needs Assessment Phases of a Needs Assessment  Pre-Assessment  Data collection. “What do we know?”  This is the foundation of Gap Analysis  What is the current state?  Where should we be?  How does our region compare to others?  What’s new?  What’s important? Phases of a Needs Assessment • Assessment – Evaluation of the data • What are our barriers? Both internal and external What Needs have we identified? Are some gaps bigger than others? – • • – • • • Consider both scope and severity What are our priorities? Do we have the resources to address them? Why do anything at all? Phases of a Needs Assessment • Action Plan – How are we going to translate what we have into what they need? • • Which Needs can we address? How are we overcoming barriers? – • List additional barriers hindering progress Have any areas been identified for follow-up or future opportunities for educational intervention? Gathering Data  Search for objective measures:  Scope: How many, or what percent, of patients are exposed/vulnerable/expected to suffer from…  Severity: What are the consequences?  Discomfort? Pain? Blindness?  Are there national standards for treatment?  Can we do better? Assessment, an example: “It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses.” - Elwood Blues, The Blues Brothers It's not what you know, it's how you know it.  Needs (gaps) are identified in 4 ways:  Types of Need     Normative Relative Expressed Perceived Types of Need  Normative  Defined as falling below a standard criterion established by custom, authority, or general consensus.  Strength:  Allows planners to use objective targets  Weakness:  Need levels change with time and must be re-evaluated Types of Need, cont.  Relative  Measured by the gap between the level of service between similar communities  Strength:  Can lead to a priority for distribution of limited resources  Weakness:  Limits resource allocation to under-performing areas Types of Need, cont.  Expressed  Defined in terms of the number of people who actually have sought help  Strength:   Focuses on situations where people have taken action Helps to determine barriers  Weakness:    Not all people with Needs seek help Loss of the bigger picture Misses latent Needs Types of Need, cont.  Perceived  Defined in terms of what people think their needs are or feel their needs to be  Strength:  Easy to come by  Weakness:   Subjective Subject to the Dunning-Kruger effect Problems must be translated into Needs  Strive to answer all 4 types of Need.  Each type of need paints a different picture of the gap. Needs are translated into Objectives  But that’s another talk… Remember  Want and Need are not synonyms.  A Needs Assessment is conducted before the activity is planned.  Pre-Assessment is not enough.  The more types of need you consider, the richer the planning process and the more effective the education. “What gets measured gets managed” – Peter Drucker.