Assessment and Planning in Health Programs

Assessment and Planning in Health Programs

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.