K4Health Guide to Conducting Needs Assessments

A reference for health care professionals, this guide provides a methodology for conducting assessments of information needs among individuals working at different levels of the health system and includes sample instruments, templates, and training materials. Originally published in October 2011, it was updated in May 2013 to include information on planning dissemination workshops.This guide is designed to walk the user through the process of assessing information needs among individuals working at different levels of the health system; to share lessons learned and tips for various methodologies; and to provide tools that can be used or adapted in future assessments. It is intended to be a useful reference material for all health professionals, including policy makers, program managers, and health care providers This guide provides advice on planning needs assessments and discusses the following methods that can be used to determine health information needs: an environment scan; online surveys; and qualitative methods, consisting of key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and network mapping using a participatory technique called Net-Map.

Last modified: July 23, 2021

Language: English