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Results for “Health Services Needs and Demand”

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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1993

Health needs, demand for health services and expenditure across social groups in Italy: an empirical investigation.

The shortage of empirical studies on socio-economic factors influencing demand for health care and inequalities across social groups is dramatic in the case of Italy. The present study aims at discussing these issues, although its results are to be considered mainly methodological, given the small dimension of the sample (n = 807). A survey was carried out in a 'qualitative' sample of 9 Local Health Units of different Italian regions. Attention was paid to report every 'illness episode', considered as a cause of demand for health services, within the reference period (4 weeks) in order to properly link health needs with utilization of health services and relative expenditure. The assessment of health status across social groups, using 4 different indicators, shows the weakest social groups as the most vulnerable. The same groups report higher per capita health services uses and expenditures than their morbidity conditions would require. Assuming equity to be defined as 'equal use for equal need' a particular use-need ratio is developed (i.e. health services used per illness episode) able to capture the 'intensity' of health services use and expenditure per need. The 'over-equity' towards the less favoured groups is interpreted as a possible accomplishment of the N.H.S. fundative goals. A structural model of determinants of health services utilization, carried out through the LISREL technique (R2 = 0.36), confirms the irrelevance of the social variables with respect to need variables.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Planning health services--demand or need?

This paper discusses the currently popular approach to planning health services which is based on demand predictions. From a consideration of the demand concept, the problems of measuring present demand and forecasting future demand, it is concluded that this approach to planning will not provide health care which serves the best interest of patients, or achieves an overall efficient use of scarce resources. The development of an approach which is based on need rather than demand is seen as compatible with providing health services in the best interests of the individual as patient, and the community as tax payers.

Australia↗
PubMed1990

Medical manpower--South African situation models for planning and recommendations.

Imbalances in medical manpower in South Africa are outlined. Theoretical publications on health manpower development are reviewed, with particular reference to factors and problems to be considered when estimating health manpower needs. Four models (health demand, health needs, service target and manpower/population ratio) of health manpower planning are described and their applicability to the South African situation is discussed. Recommendations for health manpower development in South Africa, especially for primary health care, are made.

Health Planning↗
PubMed1996

Assessing health service needs: tools for health planning.

As fiscal pressures mount, health-planning and decision-making at smaller geographics scales must be more effective. Involving local constituents in needs assessments, it is believed, would lead to better identification and serving of regional demands and needs for health services. This article examines needs assessment as a tool to determine a community's service needs and establish priorities for the creation of programs. Various approaches used in needs assessments are described, including survey methods, structured groups and geographic information systems.

Canada↗
PubMed2004

Designing a reproductive health services package in the universal health insurance scheme in Thailand: match and mismatch of need, demand and supply.

In October 2001 Thailand introduced universal healthcare coverage (UC) financed by general tax revenue. This paper aims to assess the design and content of the UC benefit package, focusing on the part of the package concerned with sexual and reproductive health (SRH). The economic concept of need, demand and supply in the process of developing the SRH package was applied to the analysis. The analysis indicated that SRH constitutes a major part of the package, including the control of communicable and non-communicable diseases, the promotion and maintenance of reproductive health, and early detection and management of reproductive health problems. In addition, the authors identified seven areas within three overlapping spheres; namely need, demand and supply. The burden of disease on reproductive conditions was used as a proxy indicator of health needs in the population; the findings of a study of private obstetric practice in public hospitals as a proxy of patients' demands; and the SRH services offered in the UC package as a proxy of general healthcare supply. The authors recommend that in order to ensure that healthcare needs match consumer demand, the inclusion of SRH services not currently offered in the package (e.g. treatment of HIV infection, abortion services) should be considered, if additional resources can be made available. Where health needs exist but consumers do not express demand, and the appropriate SRH services would provide external benefits to society (e.g. the programme for prevention of sexual and gender-related violence), policymakers are encouraged to expand and offer these services. Efforts should be made to create consumer awareness and stimulate demand. Research can play an important role in identifying the services in which supply matches demand but does not necessarily reflect the health needs of the population (e.g. unnecessary investigations and prescriptions). Where only demand or supply exists (e.g. breast cosmetic procedures and unproven effective interventions), these SRH services should be excluded from the package and left to private financing and providers, the government playing a regulatory role.

Health Services Needs and Demand↗
PubMed1982

A needs assessment strategy for an era of limited resources.

Among the several methods of assessing need for health services, the social indicator and the rates under treatment approaches utilize routinely available data. A well designed community survey, considered by many as the criterion of need within an area, is costly, difficult to mount, and requires considerable expertise. Therefore, it would seem reasonable to attempt to limit the need to utilize this approach. Presented here is a schema which utilizes the social indicator and rates under treatment approaches for an entire catchment area, reserving the survey approach only for those areas in which the two readily available need assessments are at variance, suggesting questionable validity for one or both approaches. Within a suburban middle-class county containing pockets of small town poverty, a social area analysis was undertaken to characterize need for mental health services. Inpatient rates under treatment were developed to measure demand. Key informant and survey approaches were undertaken to study selectively those census tracts which were discordant as to need and demand. This resulted in reducing the size of the population to be surveyed to 25 per cent of the total county, thus more efficiently using the limited resources available for needs assessment purposes.

Cross-Sectional Studies↗
PubMed1994

[Demand by the elderly for "meals-on-wheels" services].

A survey was performed to assess the demand for "meals-on-wheels" services by elderly persons living alone in N. city (Osaka Prefecture). The purpose of this study was to identify the factors which are related to the demand for such services. Subjects of this study were 1,853 elderly persons of whom responses were received from 1,783 (95.2%). The percentage of the subjects who needed meal delivery services was 64.5%. Physical condition, living conditions, and dietary habits all correlated significantly with the demand. Elderly who were in poor health, were less affluent, or had trouble preparing meals and performing other housework, expressed a need for "meals-on-wheels" services and asked for more services than others. Those who requested meal delivery services had poorer dietary habits than those who did not. Also, there was more demand for these services by elderly male, as well as those elderly with poor dietary habits. The poorer the quality of life of the elderly person correlated with a greater desire for "meals-on-wheels" services. This study showed that there was a great demand among the elderly living alone for "meals-on-wheels" services. While food is one of the basic elements in life, it is often taken for granted, and meal delivery services for the elderly have been largely neglected. The need for urgent improvement and expansion of meal delivery services for this population is indicated by this study.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Estimating demand for health information: pharmacy counseling services.

Consumers want more information about their health care. Before giving more information, health care providers need valid, reliable estimates of the amounts consumers will pay for health information. Using the example of pharmacist counseling services, the authors demonstrate a method for developing, estimates of consumer demand for health information.

Community Participation↗