Research Paper on Social Work Planning a Needs Assessment

Introduction

Needs assessments refer to the studies that aim at gathering information concerning the needs the groups of communities or a given population. Needs assessment are often used to develop to evaluate the relevance of the current or existing programs; besides, they are used to create new services. Additionally, needs assessment is a systematic process of addressing and determining the needs or gaps that exist between the current conditions and the desired conditions or wants (Gupta, 2011). The inconsistency between the desired condition and the current condition ought to be measured to suitably identify the needs in a given program.

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In many cases, the need may be defined as the desire to improve the present performance or to rectify a deficiency. The needs assessment plans in various programs usually include quantitative methods, telephone interviews, face-to-face interviews, and the community forum approaches. The paper concentrates on the need assessment for the caregivers in different health institutions for people with dementia.

Caregivers normally face the impact of the increasing burden, and they usually experience physical and mental deterioration. The above scenario often leads to poor quality of life due to the increased risks resulting from other illnesses and depression. The essential approach when dealing with caregivers is to improve human well-being (Parker, 2017). Caregivers usually require an outlet to express their issues and emotions in a supportive environment. Social workers are the main catalysts for caregivers to take actions and make reflections towards improving the quality of life.

The Resources Needed to Operate this Service

To assess the desires and needs of the support group for the caregivers, a thorough analysis of the interviews and research needs to be conducted to determine the priority levels of such groups. To operate the above service, there is a need for the education programs for the caregivers (Kim et al., 2010). Other resources that are needed include literature such as journals as well as the World Wide Web. Additionally, the financial resources are also important when it comes to the needs assessment for the caregivers.

The Program Activities

The program activities include consultations with the staff members and the informal and formal caregiver support groups. Amidst the needs assessments, some other activities may include the provision of caregiver education as well as the creation of awareness to the self-care services (Chow, Pio & Rockwood, 2011). Formulation of the budgets and financial planning programs is also an essential part of the activities involved in the needs assessment. In the above case, the program development and planning is necessary.

The Desired Outcomes

Some of the desired outcomes include facilitation of the forums for the caregivers to share information obtained. The program is also expected to create awareness about the importance of caregivers. Lastly, the program is expected to provide skills when it comes to the effective management of the patients.

A Plan for Gathering Information about the Population Served

In an attempt to gather information about the study population, a thorough analysis of the research, as well as the interviews, were conducted to determine the priority level of the group. Additionally, consultations with the staff members as well as other stakeholders can best give the information that is required. In detail, the plan will include identifying criteria, gathering data, filtering data, applying weights and scores for the criterion as well as the funding sources and lastly, selecting the funding source with rational.

Justifications for Your Plans and Decisions

The consultations with the staff members are essential as it will lead to different findings of the program and the caregivers involved. Gathering data and the application of weights and scores are important in enabling caregivers to give the best possible assessments to the participants. The plan consists in identifying criteria, gathering data, filtering data, applying weights and scores for the criterion as well as the funding sources and lastly, selecting the funding source with rational.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a suggestion for a follow up on the needs assessment should involve a careful examination of the design as well as the purpose of the social inequality instrument. The examination would apply the instruments that need to be made available. While doing the follow-up processes, the examination criterion should be most effective from both the social workers and the social assistance.

References

Chow, T. W., Pio, F. J., & Rockwood, K. (2011). An international needs assessment of caregivers for frontotemporal dementia. Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences, 38(5), 753-757.

Gupta, K. (2011). A practical guide to needs assessment. John Wiley & Sons.

Kim, Y., Kashy, D. A., Spillers, R. L., & Evans, T. V. (2010). Needs assessment of family caregivers of cancer survivors: three cohorts comparison. PsychoOncology, 19(6), 573-582.

Parker, J. (2017). Social work practice: Assessment, planning, intervention, and review. Learning Matters.