Final Needs Assessment Report: Reducing Healthcare Wastage

This report presents a final needs assessment focused on reducing healthcare costs by addressing the issue of unnecessary medical tests. The assessment identifies a gap in the healthcare system caused by increasing costs and proposes strategies to minimize wastage. The research employs a qualitative approach, utilizing questionnaires and interviews to gather insights from stakeholders including patients, healthcare providers, and administrators. The report discusses the methods of data collection, emphasizing the importance of questionnaires and interviews for gathering stakeholder opinions. It also delves into the measurement of validity and reliability in quantitative data, covering tests like test-retest, inter-rater, and internal consistency. Furthermore, the report addresses trustworthiness in qualitative data, exploring concepts such as credibility, transferability, and conformability. The study includes a tabular representation of data, summarizing stakeholder support for various strategies aimed at improving health and wellness programs, coordinating high-risk care, and implementing financial incentives to reduce costs. References to relevant academic literature are also provided.

Running head: FINAL NEEDS ASSESSMENT
FINAL NEEDS ASSESSMENT
[Author Name(s), First M. Last, Omit Titles and Degrees]
[Institutional Affiliation(s)]

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FINAL NEEDS ASSESSMENT
Final Needs Assessment
Q1: Reflection of the method of data collection
A gap has been identified in the healthcare system to be the ever-increasing cost of healthcare
expenses with time. This has formed the basis of a practicum question that needs to be addressed.
Part of the reason that leads to such a gap is the continued used on unnecessary medical tests on
patients. It has been established that significant resources are possibly running down into the
channels of wastes of resources as a result of medical tests performed on patients but were not
needed (Ary, 2014). This leads to increased operating costs and thus an overall burdening of the
cost of running healthcare facilities. The needs assessment thus purposes to establish
mechanisms and strategies that could be deployed so as to reduce such forms of wastages that are
incurred by healthcare facilities. Reduction or complete elimination of such forms of wastage
would have a significant impact on reducing the operation costs of healthcare facilities.
The choice of the method of collecting data was based on the nature of the data that was
supposed to be collected. This was directly related to the objectives and the aim of the practicum.
The data required in this case is in line with what the stakeholders in the healthcare system feel
can be deployed or adopted in order to reduce the possible wastes resulting from unnecessary
medical tests (Mellinger, 2016). Among the stakeholders whose opinions need to be sought on
this issue so as to establish a comprehensive research, outcome include patients, healthcare
providers (nurses, doctors, pharmacists, etc.) as well as the administrative wing of a healthcare
facility. For this reason, the most appropriate data collection methods would be questionnaires
and interviews.

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Such methods allow for the collection of the views, thoughts and ideas of the various
stakeholders. Questionnaires would be bearing written questions, both closed and open-ended, on
the research topic (Anastas, 2011). A stakeholder would submit his responses to each of the
questions upon request to do so.
These responses are used as the suggested strategies in the views of such stakeholders in curbing
the ever-increasing cost of operating healthcare facilities through reduction of unnecessary
medical tests. Interviews would involve engaging the stakeholders either through focus groups or
individual interviews. Still, in this method of data collection, it will be possible to collect the
required data based on the research question. The needs assessment of this task calls for
qualitative research approach and since the methods chosen are for qualitative research approach
interviews and questionnaires are the best tools or data collection methods that are usable in
gathering the required information (Saunders, 2015).
Q3: Measuring the validity and reliability of quantitative data
Reliability defines the extent of generation of consistent and stable results by an assessment tool
(Burns, 2010). Among the test for measuring reliability, include test-retest, inter-rater, parallel
forms and internal consistency tests. Internal consistency evaluates the extent to which different
items of test over the same research question yield similar results. Parallel forms test is where
dissimilar versions of the same assessment tool are used on the same group of individuals. The
results obtained from the different versions are then compared for the establishment of an
existence of a correlation between the results obtained across the alternative versions. Test-retest
test is a method of obtaining reliability by administering the same questions or tests to the same
group of participants twice over a period (Mellinger, 2016). The different scores from the two

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tests are compared for correlation in order to determine the stability of the test over the time. The
inter-rate test is the extent of agreement between different judges while making decisions on an
assessment.
Validity defines how properly a test measures what it is purported to measure. Among the
reliability tests include:
 Construct validity-ascertains that the measurement taken is actually for the intended
measurement as opposed to other variables
 Face validity-confirms that the measure sounds to be evaluating the intended construct
that is under research.
 Sampling validity- ascertains that the broad parts are covered within the concept that is
brought under study (Saldana, 2009)
 Criterion-related validity-applied in the prediction of the existing or the future
performance by correlation the outcomes with those of another correlation of interest
 Formative validity-used in the determination of the extent to which a measure can
provide information that is useful in improving the concept under study.
Q4: How trustworthiness is measured in qualitative data
Trustworthiness is composed of dependability, credibility, transferability and conformability of
the research conducted. Credibility influences a belief in the trustworthiness of data through
triangulation, member checks, and prolonged engagements, peer debriefing and persistent
observations. Triangulation is achievable through interrogating similar research questions to
different participants and through the use of different sources to collect data. Member checks are
where the participants are asked by the researcher to the data as collected by the interviewer as

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well as that of the interviewer’s interpretation (Ary, 2014). Transferability is the ability to use the
findings of a study in other cases or contexts. Purposive sampling is the technique that addresses
transferability.
Purposive sampling allows for the maximization of specific information as it relates to the
context from which the data has been collected. Reliability is a factor of validity, and thus an
illustration of credibility eliminates the need to illustrate dependability. Data audit is used in the
assessment of the validity of data set. Conformability refers to how a researcher is able to
qualitatively compare the objectivity of concerns of data and research. In this case, the focus is
given to the outcomes of the thoughts and experiences of the informants as opposed to the
preferences and the characteristics of the researcher (Suter, 2011).
Triangulation is thus a fundamental technique in this aspect of trustworthiness as it helps to keep
checks on the level of bias of the researcher (Anastas, 2011). Conformity of data is determined
by the degree of commitment of the researcher to accepting his or her own predispositions. In
this regard, the research report should reflect the reasons for the methods and the decisions made
during the research. The report of the research should also be able to explain the reasons for
picking on such methods when alternative methods were available and could as well be adopted.
Tabular representation of data
The research is to be conducted among the various stakeholders in the healthcare system
including doctors, nurses, patients, clinicians, pharmacists among other stakeholders

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Strategy/No. of Stakeholders in
support of strategy
Patients
(out of 500)
Nurses
(out of 200)
Doctors
(out of 80)
Clinician
(out of 100)
Improving health and wellness
programs
400 180 65 82
High-risk care coordinators 450 190 78 95
Putting individual physician at risk
for high-cost radiology utilization for
the personal patients
380 100 45 47
Keeping care within the delivery
system incentives
484 177 66 84
Internal prior authorization programs
for drugs or tests that are costly
450 180 60 68
Putting physician groups at risk for
the total medical cost for patient
populations
480 120 36 45
Putting individual physician at risk
for pharmacy for the personal patients
458 128 38 43
References

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Anastas, J. W. (2011). Research Design for Social Work and the Human Services. Columbia:
Columbia University Press.
Ary, D. (2014). Analyzing Quantitative Behavioral Observation Data. Tokyo: Psychology Press.
Burns, N. (2010). Understanding Nursing Research - eBook: Building an Evidence-Based
Practice. London: Elsevier Health Sciences.
Mellinger, C. D. (2016). Quantitative Research Methods in Translation and Interpreting Studies.
New York: Taylor & Francis.
Saldana, J. (2009). he Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. London: SAGE.
Saunders, M. N. (2015). Handbook of Research Methods on Trust: Second Edition. London:
Edward Elgar Publishing.
Suter, W. N. (2011). Introduction to Educational Research: A Critical Thinking Approach.
Manchester: SAGE Publications.