Assignment Task:

This assignment is on Needs Assessment in public health, and you have 2 options (choose one) for submission (it is an individual assignment in report structure). 

Instructions: 

Option 1: Choose a setting such as a community, health service (e.g. hospital, primary health care service) or neighbourhood you know well in Australia ( Examples (not limited to) are: 

(1) a particular community (for example, indigenous population, women etc)

(2) a health service (such as hospital, primary health care service, GP practices etc)

(3) a neighbourhood that you know well (where you currently live in)

How to proceed with Option 1: 

STEP 1: A discussion of how you would assess different types of needs (normative, expressed, comparative, felt, etc.) and how you would prioritise the findings, justifying your choices.  

For this purpose, you would either know of/be in the situation in reality first. Then, you would have to undertake rigorous literature review to understand different types of needs assessment and consider alternative views to justify the choices for this context.  

STEP 2: Any potential challenges for your needs assessment and how you would address them. This could be relating to policy, contextual issues or others.  

STEP 3: A SWOT analysis, where you identify the Strengths, Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats of your organisation or program.  

STEP 4: A determination of program priorities, based upon your needs assessment  

In your needs assessment, you may determine multiple programs priorities – justify why you would choose the priorities you have identified. Are there any population groups that would benefit best from your program? Mention these, justify

AN EXAMPLE  

Let us take a GP practice in a specific growing suburb in Melbourne as a context. The waiting list seem to be increasing as many patients are approaching the GP and there are no other practices close by. It could also be that much of the population is working, and they need after hours service. If you are part of this situation (working in the practice or living in the suburb) – you would have an idea as to what type of need had risen. From that point, think about what type of needs assessment is required (via comparing few types of needs assessment from literature review), and justify your choice. Then, we are looking at potential challenges to really confirm this need, through the needs assessment.  Subsequently, look at the SWOT analysis. There may be many GPs in the practice (Strength), but, the hours may not suit the working population in the suburb (weakness). The threat may be that due to non?suitable opening hours or waiting list, the population may begin to move to another closer suburb (where there are more GPs open late) which then (threatens) the practice. And the (opportunity) is there for this GP practice to open for more hours or have shift based GPs for different hours, keeping the practice open later. This is a simple SWOT and there may be many more.  

In this situation, you would be looking at a program design that allows the GPs to open later hours or shifts, which cater to the mainly working population, young families in the new suburb/neighbourhood. You may prioritise working women, kids or mainly working men as population groups that would best benefit.  

 

Option 2 

Please refer to the latest report on Australia's health

Then amongst all the causes mentioned for ill-health in the report for the latest year, choose any one cause for ill-health. Some of the causes mentioned for ill-health are like chronic conditions, cancer, chronic heart disease, diabetes and arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions. Please note that you need to choose any one cause of ill-health for your assessment.

Imagine you have been asked to conduct a needs assessment for this ill-health cause. 

Describe how you would go about a needs assessment: 

For example: Assuming that you have chosen ‘Cancer Control’.

First, it is best that you break it down into the types of cancers that seem to be prevalent, looking at the incidence of these across Australia (statistics as of 2017), (do remember that you do not go into details of the health problem as such, as this is not the task. It is simply  statistics to support this task) and review what services are already being provided across Australia in all the States and Territories as well as Federal initiatives. Your literature review needs to be highly comprehensive and up?to?date till end of 2017. Then, based on this decide on how a needs analysis can be undertaken nationally. Do remember to justify different approaches (literature review), before arriving at your final version.  

Specifically, In this example: 

Step 1: What is the best needs analysis approach for ‘cancer control service?’ Can this be national or state level – and why (justify via literature).  

Step 2: What are the challenges that you will face in undertaking the needs analysis? Look at policy, inter?disciplinary and generic levels.  

Step 3: SWOT – From the literature that exists until 2017. This can include what is being done (for example, screening), weakness (do not cover all population), threats (many people resist undertaking scanning), opportunity (making screening mandatory).  

Step 4: Program priorities–identify priorities for a potential program based on the above that can be provided at grass root level via state/local councils.   (Keep in mind that designing a program as such is not the primary objective ? you are only 

outlining it at this stage) 

Assessment Criteria (Please see Learning Rubric On Following Pages)  

• Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of different types of need, the process of conducting a needs analysis and SWOT analysis and the steps required (25%)

• Demonstrates understanding of different approaches and methods for needs analysis and ability to choose the most appropriate for their selected area (25%)

• Demonstrates the ability to synthesize information for a review of relevant literature and to form a coherent rationale for the needs prioritized (20%)

• Critically analyses the methods and population group chosen and potential challenges to the needs assessment. (20%)

 

This Public Health Assignment has been solved by our Public Health Experts at UniLearnO. Our Assignment Writing Experts are efficient to provide a fresh solution to this question. We are serving more than 10000+ Students in Australia, UK & US by helping them to score HD in their academics. Our Experts are well trained to follow all marking rubrics & referencing style.

Be it a used or new solution, the quality of the work submitted by our assignment experts remains unhampered. You may continue to expect the same or even better quality with the used and new assignment solution files respectively. There’s one thing to be noticed that you could choose one between the two and acquire an HD either way. You could choose a new assignment solution file to get yourself an exclusive, plagiarism (with free Turnitin file), expert quality assignment or order an old solution file that was considered worthy of the highest distinction.

Eureka! You've stumped our genius minds (for now)! This exciting new question has our experts buzzing with curiosity. We can't wait to craft a fresh solution just for you!

  • Uploaded By : Mia
  • Posted on : July 01st, 2019

Whatsapp Tap to ChatGet instant assistance