ABSTRACT
Health planning issues are frequently expressed in terms of need, although the definition, interpretation and use of the term ‘need’ often differs. In the United States the centrality of identifying health needs emerged during the comprehensive health planning experience of the 1960s. For health planning purposes, the concept of need ranges from relative deprivation and resource allocation at the population level to matching incidence and prevalence with efficacy and effectiveness of health services. The practising planner is often eclectic in determining the approaches appropriate to the planning exercise and in mixing approaches if this is necessary. The planner should be cautious about lists of priorities that become too long to be manageable. Health needs — normative, comparative, expressed and felt — are best assessed through a multi-pronged approach that incorporates both qualitative and quantitative methods; thus, these methods are core competencies for health planners.
