Needs Assessment Essay
When you are engaged in program planning, a needs assessment helps to determine the actuality and details of a specific problem. It also addresses how the target population views the problem—which is critical since their perspective and motivation to change are essential for the success of the program.
In this week’s video, the necessity of appraising a community’s assets as well as its challenges is evident as Dr. Donna Shambley-Ebron and Dr. Rebecca Lee discuss needs assessments. What additional insights have you gleaned from the Learning Resources that you intend to apply to your program?
For this Discussion, you develop a framework for completing a needs assessment for your program. To do this effectively, it is essential to begin with the program and the population you have identified and then develop an appropriate approach for conducting a needs assessment. This also leads to consideration of the types of data needed and the data collection methods to be used.
To prepare:
- Consider aspects of your problem and population (breast cancer in African American women in the USA) as you review the information on needs assessment presented in the Learning Resources.
- How would you conduct a needs assessment? What considerations would influence your decision making about this process?
- What would be the most efficient and effective methods for collecting data? What challenges could be encountered?
By tomorrow 2 pm, write a minimum of 550 words essay in APA format with at least 3 references from the list of required readings below. Include all headers as numbered below:
Post a cohesive scholarly response that addresses the following:
1) Discuss how you would conduct a needs assessment for your selected problem and the target population. Why is this approach appropriate for the problem you have identified? Support your response with evidence from the literature.
2) Describe your proposed data collection methods and evaluate any challenges you might encounter.
Required Readings
Assessment and Planning in Health Programs
Chapter 1, “Assessment for Developing Programs and Interventions: The Big Picture”
Chapter 1 notes the importance of looking not just at needs but also the assets associated with the target population and environment; that is, assessing what needs to be addressed given the assets that are present.
Chapter 3, “Data Collection Strategies for Needs Assessments and Evaluations”
In Chapter 3, the authors examine data collection, a key element of needs assessments. They also indicate that it is wise to plan ahead and consider data collection strategies for evaluation at the same time.
Kettner, P. M., Moroney, R. M., & Martin, L. L. (2017). Designing and managing programs: An effectiveness-based approach (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Chapter 4, “Needs Assessment: Theoretical Considerations”
Chapter 5, “Needs Assessment: Approaches to Measurement”
These two chapters provide foundational information as well as guidance for conducting a needs assessment as part of program planning.
Burrows, T., Hutchesson, M., Chai, L,K., Rollow, M., Skinner, G., & Collins, C. (2015). Nutrition interventions for prevention and management of childhood obesity: What do parents want from an eHealth program? Nutrients, 7, 10469–10479 doi:10.3390/nu7125546
Derguy, C., Michel, G., M’Bailara, K., Roux, S., & Bouvard, M. (2015). Assessing needs in parents of children with autism spectrum disorder: A crucial preliminary step to target relevant issues for support programs. Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, 40(2), 156–166 doi.org/10.3109/13668250.2015.1023707
Millard, T., McDonald, K., Elliott, J., Slavin, S., Rowell, S., & Girdler, S. (2014). Informing the development of an online self-management program for men living with HIV: a needs assessment. BMC Public Health, 14, 1209 doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-1209
Springer, A. E. & Evans, A.E. (2016). Assessing environmental assets for health promotion program planning: a practical framework for health promotion practitioners. Health Promotion Perspectives, 6(3), 111–118 doi: 10.15171/hpp.2016.19
Required Media
Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Design and evaluation of programs and projects [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
“Needs Assessment” (featuring Dr. Rebecca Lee, Shiniche Thomas, and Dr. Donna Shambley-Ebron)
You may view this course video by clicking the link or on the course DVD, which contains the same content. Once you’ve opened the link, click on the appropriate media piece.
In this week’s videos, Dr. Rebecca Lee and Dr. Donna Shambley-Ebron discuss needs assessments. Then, Dr. Rebecca Lee demonstrates a windshield assessment along with Seven Hills community resident Shiniche Thomas.
