Summarize the purpose of conducting a needs assessment for the population in the case study.
There are two purposes for conducting a needs assessment for the homeless veterans. The first purpose looks at the improvements made in the lives of veterans from the GLA program innovation in addressing fragmentation of services. The second purpose examines the process of program implementation to identify the challenges faced in specific patient populations ( Blue-Howells et al., 2008 ).
Identify several methods for performing a needs assessment of the population in the case study (homeless families).
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In finding the normative, expressed, perceived, and relative needs of the population, various methods apply with their respective data collection procedure. The first method is the use of a social survey on the homeless individuals to assess the effect of merging primary care with homeless care ( Blue-Howells et al., 2008 ).. The approach could be the face to face interviewing of the respondents and the data entered in questionnaires for analysis. The second method is community mapping to establish the situation of health services for the homeless community. Data could be obtained through the use of community resource persons to establish the places most visited by the homeless and hence establish the best location of health services ( Blue-Howells et al., 2008 ). In the case study, the resource persons were used to determine the best location of the facility. Another method is the seasonal calendar pertaining to the availability of the homeless in certain locations. This serves to bridge the geographic barriers to service accessibility. Data collection method is through the calendar listing where various times in a calendar are outlined in connection to the activities involved and the community members used to identify the trends. Another method is through focus group sessions where the community members provide their views on their health concerns. The modulator notes down the pertinent issues in finding the service gaps and the challenges in program implementation.
Formulate a set of goals and objectives for the program in the case study based on the apparent needs of the population as outlined in the case study.
To establish the possible innovation methods in addressing service fragmentation for the homeless veterans.
To integrate innovation in the GLA homeless project for addressing the waiting time and geographic distance in curbing service fragmentation.
To establish the challenges involved in health programs for specific patient populations.
To demonstrate the phases involved in program implementation.
Finally, provide a brief explanation of the importance of having a cohesive mission statement and set of goals within an organization.
The importance of having a cohesive mission statement within an organization cannot be overemphasized. As the GLA program innovation demonstrated, cohesion made it possible to address the problem of service fragmentation in the population of interest. With a cohesive mission statement, they managed to overcome the barriers to healthcare utilization by the veterans, particularly pertaining to waiting time and geographic distance. Moreover, having set goals within an organization proves effective in ensuring a well-coordinated system. This fact was demonstrated by the GLA program implementation process which ensured that all services were consolidated in one building to enhance service delivery for the homeless veterans ( Blue-Howells et al., 2008 ). The goals made it possible to develop a one intake system that encompassed homeless services, medical services, and mental health services which were accessible in the same day thus avoiding the waiting time. Furthermore, a cohesive mission statement and goals enabled the staff working on the GLA program to come up with new innovations which enabled faster delivery of services to the specified population. Thus, these aspects were crucial for the overall success of the program.
Reference
Blue-Howells, J., McGuire, J., & Nakashima, J. (2008). Co-location of health care services for homeless veterans: a case study of innovation in program implementation. Social work in health care , 47 (3), 219-231.
