PUBH6007 Program Design, Implementation and Evaluation Assessment

Assessment Task
Needs assessments are crucial in program design, implementation and evaluation in public health, as they form the foundation for the evidence-based approach required to design and
evaluate relevant, credible and contextually appropriate programs. In this assessment, each individual in the group will need to perform a needs assessment associated with your group’s chosen health challenge/target population. To generate a comprehensive understanding of the community need, the group discussion should inform the different areas that each student will focus on under a particular public health theme. Each individual will submit a 1,000 word (+/–10%) needs assessment report.

Assessment Flow Chart
Please ensure that you read the Portfolio Assessment Brief before completing this assessment.

Context

If health services are to respond to the changing health needs of their local populations,planners and managers need useful and timely information about the health status of target populations.

Task Instructions 

Your needs assessment report should include the following information: 

1. Background

           This should include: 

• A clear title of your allocated problem/topic. 
• A brief literature review of the current literature that outlines the types of needs  (e.g., normative, expressed, comparative or felt) in your chosen population. 
• A brief discussion about the need analysis and methodological approaches (e.g., quantitative and qualitative research and systematic reviews) you have chosen to  use. 

2. Prioritisation of Needs

• In this section, you will prioritise the needs based on the current evidence reviewed  and develop and present a problem and solution tree. 

3. Justification

•  In this section, you need to justify your choice of priorities and outline how your needs  assessment will benefit the population. 

4. SWOT Analysis

           In this section, you will need to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and  threats (SWOT) of your needs assessment: 

• Strengths: What unique needs did you identify that others have not?
• Weaknesses: What are some things that your needs assessment failed to consider?
• Opportunities: What are some areas in which you could thrive that are not currently taken advantage of?
• Threats: What are some external factors (e.g., competitors, consumer demand or economic conditions) that could make it more difficult for you to do a needs assessment?