“INTERMED”: a method to assess health service needs

As fiscal pressures mount, health-planning and decision-making at smaller geographics scales must be more effective. Involving local constituents in needs assessments, it is believed, would lead to better identification and serving of regional demands and needs for health services. This article examines needs assessment as a tool to determine a community's service needs and establish priorities for the creation of programs. Various approaches used in needs assessments are described, including survey methods, structured groups and geographic information systems.

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A Value-Based Steering Model for Healthcare

Frontiers in Health Services ◽

10.3389/frhs.2021.709271 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

Author(s):

Laura J. Pitkänen ◽

Riikka-Leena Leskelä ◽

Helena Tolkki ◽

Paulus Torkki

Keyword(s):

Health Service ◽

Health Services ◽

Healthcare System ◽

Public Service ◽

Service Provider ◽

Service System ◽

Design Science ◽

Service Needs ◽

Science Study ◽

A Value

This article aims to answer how a commissioning body can steer health services based on value in an environment where the commissioner is responsible for the health services of a population with varying health service needs. In this design science study, we constructed a value-based steering model consisting of three parts: (1) the principles of steering; (2) the steering process; and (3) Value Steering Canvas, a concrete tool for steering. The study is based on Finland, a tax-funded healthcare system, where healthcare is a public service. The results can be applied in any system where there is a commissioner and a service provider, whether they are two separate organizations or not. We conclude that steering can be done based on value. The commissioning body can start using value-based steering without changes in legislation or in the present service system. Further research is needed to test the model in practice.

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A Participatory Action Research Approach for Identifying Health Service Needs of Hispanic Immigrants: Implications for Occupational Therapy

The Scholarship of Practice ◽

10.4324/9780203725801-9 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 148-211

Keyword(s):

Action Research ◽

Health Service ◽

Occupational Therapy ◽

Participatory Action Research ◽

Hispanic Immigrants ◽

Research Approach ◽

Service Needs ◽

Participatory Action ◽

Action Research Approach

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Health service needs and perspectives of remote forest communities in Papua New Guinea: study protocol for combined clinical and rapid anthropological assessments with parallel treatment of urgent cases

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-041784 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. e041784

Author(s):

Jo Middleton ◽

Mohammad Yazid Abdad ◽

Emilie Beauchamp ◽

Gavin Colthart ◽

Maxwell J F Cooper ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Health Service ◽

Medical Research ◽

Papua New Guinea ◽

New Guinea ◽

Health Needs ◽

Service Needs ◽

Plain Language ◽

Research Activity ◽

Health Service Provision

IntroductionOur project follows community requests for health service incorporation into conservation collaborations in the rainforests of Papua New Guinea (PNG). This protocol is for health needs assessments, our first step in coplanning medical provision in communities with no existing health data.Methods and analysisThe study includes clinical assessments and rapid anthropological assessment procedures (RAP) exploring the health needs and perspectives of partner communities in two areas, conducted over 6 weeks fieldwork. First, in Wanang village (population c.200), which is set in lowland rainforest. Second, in six communities (population c.3000) along an altitudinal transect up the highest mountain in PNG, Mount Wilhelm. Individual primary care assessments incorporate physical examinations and questioning (providing qualitative and quantitative data) while RAP includes focus groups, interviews and field observations (providing qualitative data). Given absence of in-community primary care, treatments are offered alongside research activity but will not form part of the study. Data are collected by a research fellow, primary care clinician and two PNG research technicians. After quantitative and qualitative analyses, we will report: ethnoclassifications of disease, causes, symptoms and perceived appropriate treatment; community rankings of disease importance and service needs; attitudes regarding health service provision; disease burdens and associations with altitudinal-related variables and cultural practices. To aid wider use study tools are in online supplemental file, and paper and ODK versions are available free from the corresponding author.Ethics and disseminationChallenges include supporting informed consent in communities with low literacy and diverse cultures, moral duties to provide treatment alongside research in medically underserved areas while minimising risks of therapeutic misconception and inappropriate inducement, and PNG research capacity building. Brighton and Sussex Medical School (UK), PNG Institute of Medical Research and PNG Medical Research Advisory Committee have approved the study. Dissemination will be via journals, village meetings and plain language summaries.

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Patient-doctor concordance of perceived mental health service needs in Chinese hospitalized patients: a cross-sectional study

Annals of Palliative Medicine ◽

10.21037/apm.2019.08.06 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 442-450

Author(s):

Jian-Ying Yu ◽

Zai-Quan Dong ◽

Yang Liu ◽

Zi-Han Liu ◽

Liang Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Service ◽

Health Service ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Hospitalized Patients ◽

Service Needs ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional

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Dua Ti Dawa Ti: understanding psychological distress in the ten districts of the Kashmir Valley and community mental health service needs

Conflict and Health ◽

10.1186/s13031-019-0243-8 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Tambri Housen ◽

Shabnum Ara ◽

Akmal Shah ◽

Showkat Shah ◽

Annick Lenglet ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Psychological Distress ◽

Mental Health Service ◽

Health Service ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Structured Interview ◽

Political Conflict ◽

Service Needs ◽

Community Mental Health Service ◽

Kashmir Valley

Abstract Background An extensive body of research exists looking at the level of psychological distress in populations affected by political conflict. Recommended response to psychological distress in humanitarian crises is still based on frameworks for interventions developed in western/European contexts including psychological first aid, counselling and group therapy. While there is growing, but limited, evidence that culturally modified interventions can lead to reduction in symptoms of psychological distress in conflict affected populations, there is a need to understand mental health help-seeking behaviour and mental health service needs from the perspective of affected communities. Methods This study employed a qualitative exploratory research design based on principles of grounded theory. A combination of convenience and snowball sampling was used to recruit 186 adults from the general population to 20 focus group discussions; 95 men, median age 40 years, interquartile range (IQR): 27–48 years and 91 women, median age 40 years IQR: 32–50 years. Trained Kashmiri facilitators used a semi-structured interview guide to ascertain community perceptions on mental illness, help-seeking and service needs from the perspective of communities in the Kashmir Valley. Content analysis of transcripts resulted in the identification of seven overarching themes. Results Common locally recognized symptoms of psychological distress were synonymous with symptoms listed in the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist (HSCL-25) and the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ). Protracted political insecurity was highlighted as a major perceived cause of psychological distress in communities. Mental health help-seeking included traditional/spiritual healers in combination with practitioners of western medicine, with access highlighted as the main barrier. Divergent views were expressed on the effectiveness of treatment received. Participants’ expressed the need for investment in mental health literacy to improve the community’s capacity to recognize and support those suffering from psychological distress. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate the universality of symptoms of psychological distress whilst simultaneously highlighting the importance of recognizing the cultural, spiritual and contextual framework within which psychological distress is understood and manifest. Co-constructed models of community based mental health services are needed.

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