Reference no: EM132212540

Health Planning and Evaluation Assessment - Needs Analysis

There are two parts to this assessment:

1) Write a short literature review on the disparities faced by rural and remote populations in Australia. Identify some of the key health challenges and conditions that are faced by this population group (1000 words).

2) You are required to choose one rural or remote region in Western Australia from the list below and complete a needs assessment (population profile) for that region.

• Pilbara Or South West

You are required to complete each section below. Where data and/or information is not available, suggest reasons as to why this may be. You must include in-text citations and include a reference list at the end of your assessment. Please ensure that you use the most up to date information, i.e. 2016 Census Data.

Assessment Brief: You are working for a Primary Health Network (PHN) in Australia and you have been asked to undertake both; a simple Needs analysis (Assignment 1) and a Project Plan (Assignment 2) for a region of your choice (listed above) in Western Australia.

PHNs were established in July 2015, with the objectives of increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of medical services for patients, particularly those at risk of poor health outcomes; and to improve coordination of care to ensure patients receive the right care in the right place at the right time.

Primary Health Networks aim to achieve these objectives on the basis of an understanding of the health care needs of their communities through analysis and planning. In order to achieve these objectives they must identify the available services and help to identify and address service gaps, while getting value for money.

You have been asked to assist with the first stage of the PHN commissioning cycle, which is the strategic planning stage which involves undertaking 2 activities:

1. Needs analysis

2. Project plan

Regional Needs Analysis -

1. Population Profile

a. Geography: which area/population does this profile cover? A description of a community includes its location. Defining the boundaries is necessary to identify who is included within a community.

b. Numbers: how many people? The total number of people within the community should include all people from birth to death. This will show the number of people the community assessment is designed to cover.

c. Age distribution: What age are they (% of population) and compared to the wider population of WA or Australia.

Identify the age distribution of each of the following categories

• Pre-school children
• School-age children and young people
• Adults
• Elderly people.

d. Gender distribution: Identify how many males and females and compared to the wider population of WA or Australia. Write a brief comment on how this relates to the health needs of the community.

e. Population trends: Identify the patterns over a period of time Population trends give an indication of patterns of disease and compared to the wider population of WA or Australia. Comment on how population trends can reflect on the health care needs of a community.

f. Language and literacy: Identify the language and literacy profile of your community. Comment on why this is important when considering the healthcare needs of a community.

g. Employment and Socioeconomic status: outline the socioeconomic profile and rates of unemployment of your community and compared to the wider population of WA or Australia.

2. The health status and health behaviours of the population

There are different ways of finding out about the health status of the community and a number of measures commonly used to identify the health of a population such as:

a. Mortality data: *This generally describes patterns of death in relation to age, gender and cause of death. It is a basic measure of epidemiology - the study of disease in populations.

Mortality rate = (Number of deaths per year/ Total size of the population) x 1000

Life expectancy =

b. Morbidity data: *This is information refers to the incidence and prevalence of illness and disability in the community

Identify the incidence and prevalence of the following and compare these to the wider population of WA or Australia.

c. Health behaviours:

Identify the following for your community:

• Physical activity:
• Smoking rate:
• Alcohol consumption:

d. Service information: Use the following resource to identify the number of General Practitioners, Psychologists and Dieticians in your region. You may place a screen capture of your map here.

e. Health care workforce: Identify the number of General Practitioners and Psychologists per 1,000 population in your region.

General practitioners =

Psychologists =

3. Identifying Health Needs. Using the information above, please complete the following table by identifying 3 key health needs for your community.

4. Identify 3 additional sources of information that would help you identify the needs of your region.

Attachment:- Assignment File.rar