Concepts of Need

Through the years there have been many different definitions of what ‘need’ is. As each definition was developed it was intended to improve the quality of services delivered to the population. When ‘need’ is looked there are three main points referred to. These are 1) the kinds of problems that people experience 2) what response is required 3) is there a relationship between the particular problems and the response available to it. When healthcare professionals and social workers look at need they are looking at a need for services.

In 1973 Bradshaw identified four main categories of need in his “Taxonomy of Need”. These were;

• Normative Need is need which is identified and defined by a set of experts according to a norm or to their particular set of standards.

For example, the level of benefits a person is to receive is set by a group of professionals determined by a serious of means tests which again have been designed and set by a particular group of professionals.

• Felt Need is need which people feel. This particular need is often expressed by a person as a want. For example, an older adult with dementia living in a residential unit may express that they ‘need’ to go home. This is a want and desire from that person not a need.

• Expressed Need is need in which people say they have. An expressed need in generally a felt need that is turned into a demand. For example, a patient visits there G.P with back pain. The patient expresses they wish to see a physiotherapist, this is the demand. It is the G.P’s responsibility to control this demand by the use of a waiting list.

• Comparative Need is where concerns are expressed by the comparison of one person’s needs to another’s. Often this is found when one person is in receipt of particular services due to there ‘need’ and others are not. For example, a deprived area may receive more funding for community groups such as, youth clubs. Other areas may compare this provision and question why they do not receive such funding.

Explain ‘needs’ in terms of basic psychological and sociological concepts (include self-esteem, self-image, oppression and cultural expectations)

Psychological Concepts

Self-image: A persons self-image represents their current view they hold about themselves. This view is created by the way in which you see yourself and what you have achieved. It also takes into account the way we wish other people to to view us. Self-image is derived through social interactions in which we experience and also our own interpretation of any feedback we receive from others. If the feedback we receive is positive then it is supportive of our self-image, if it is negative then the effects on our self-image could be distructive.

Self-esteem: The level of a persons self-esteem can have both positive and negative effects on there behaviours. The level of self-esteem a person holds is important as it has an overall effect on the way in which they value their individual feeling and beliefs about the person that they are which in turn effects their individual performance. If they hold high levels of self-esteem they will also hold high levels of confidence, if they hold low levels of self-esteem they are likely to have a low self confidence.

Self-image and self-esteem,in relation to a persons needs, can have