Assessing District Health Needs

This manual consists of a set of protocols for carrying out an assessment, primarily at district level, of the adequacy of services and systems to meet needs. Health management and support systems are responsible for ensuring that the infrastructure required to implement health programmes is in place and that it functions efficiently and effectively.

This essential infrastructure includes physical facilities (buildings, vehicles), other material resources (drugs, supplies), human resources (trained and motivated staff) and financial resources to pay salaries, maintain and repair equipment.

Management is concerned with planning, monitoring and control of the use of these resources in order to achieve the desired health outcomes. Most national health systems in developing countries do not have a comprehensive database which can be used for assessing health needs services and systems.

But such assessments are needed to review the appropriateness and effectiveness of the existing set of programmes and interventions, and to decide what needs to be changed and added to improve the performance of the system.

It is necessary for those conducting the health assessment to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of the health needs, services and systems in the particular area by collecting the necessary data and analyzing it in a short time.

It is the purpose of this manual to help health professionals undertake this difficult task. The manual is designed for use by national health planners, members of district health management teams/district health officers, technical advisers of donor agencies or non-governmental agencies who are planning or evaluating an intervention in a district and by staff of development training and research institutes to pinpoint areas for further investigation and as an aid in operational research.