Healthcare needs assessment of a local population combines national and local
health registries with practice-based data, surveys and qualitative methods. A
working group in Finland has developed a system of key indicators for local
needs assessment based on a comparative approach. It uses 45 key indicators
within four different fields: demography, health behaviour, health status and
use of health services. Indicators had to: describe an aspect of health
affecting large groups; be available and accessible in existing data files; and
be valid, reliable and easy to interpret. A user interface is needed to extract
the indicators via the Internet. An educational package of instructions and
exercises will be prepared. The use of evidence in health service planning needs
to be strengthened. The project offers a new toolkit for healthcare needs
assessment, planning of local health services and public health development.
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