Community Personal Needs Assessment Questionnaire

Abstract

The Community Personal Needs Assessment (NEEDS) Questionnaire, first published by Sapuppo et al. in 2023, is a robust, 175-item self-assessment instrument designed to identify and quantify the specific unmet needs experienced by young stroke survivors. The development of this comprehensive questionnaire involved an extensive literature review and integrated insights gathered from previous unmet needs assessments. It targets individuals aged 18 to 55 who are at least two months post-stroke and residing independently within the community. The NEEDS Questionnaire assesses seven critical domains of recovery and daily life: Healthcare Experience, Impairments from Stroke, Everyday Activities, Work or Study, Finances, Relationships, and Social Participation. Respondents employ a two-part scoring process: first indicating the presence of an unmet need (Yes/No), and then rating its subjective significance using a six-point Likert scale.

Keywords

Needs Assessment, Stroke, Young Survivors, Cerebrovascular Accidents (CVA), Unmet Needs, Rehabilitation, Self-Assessment, Neuropsychological Assessment, Community Living.

Authors

Sapuppo, David, Bernhardt, Julie, Carvalho, Lilian B., Churilov, Leonid, Thijs, Vincent.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the NEEDS Questionnaire is to serve as a structured, detailed needs assessment tool specifically tailored for young stroke survivors. It focuses on those aged 18 to 55 years old who are living within the community and are in the sub-acute or chronic phase of recovery (at least two months post-stroke).

The objective is twofold: first, to systematically help these individuals identify personal needs that they perceive as currently unmet; and second, to quantify the perceived significance or burden associated with each identified need, thereby prioritizing areas for clinical intervention and support services.

Construct

The core psychological construct measured by the Community Personal Needs Assessment Questionnaire is the multidimensional concept of Unmet Personal Needs in the context of post-stroke recovery. This construct moves beyond traditional measures of physical impairment to capture psychosocial, financial, and relational deficits perceived by the survivor.

The instrument operationalizes this construct across seven distinct domains, ensuring a holistic evaluation of the impact of the stroke on the individual’s life. The dual response format (presence/absence and significance rating) allows for a nuanced understanding of need severity, distinguishing between needs that are present but manageable, and those that are highly significant barriers to community re-integration.

Validity

No data is Available.

As of the initial publication in 2023, formal psychometric data establishing the criterion, construct, or content validity of the Community Personal Needs Assessment Questionnaire was not reported. Future research utilizing techniques such as correlation with established quality-of-life measures or expert review is necessary to confirm the validity of the instrument.

Reliability

No data is Available.

Data regarding the internal consistency (e.g., calculation of Cronbach’s alpha for the seven domains) or temporal stability (test-retest reliability) of the NEEDS Questionnaire scores is currently absent from the foundational literature. Such reliability testing is essential for ensuring the consistency and dependability of the instrument in clinical and research settings.

Factor Analysis

No data is Available.

Details pertaining to whether the 175 items naturally group into the hypothesized seven domains (Healthcare Experience, Impairments from Stroke, etc.) through statistical methods like Exploratory or Confirmatory Factor Analysis have not been published. Establishing the underlying factor structure is crucial for validating the scale’s theoretical model.

Instrument

Test Type: Original Inventory/Questionnaire.

Format: The NEEDS Questionnaire is administered electronically. It comprises demographic questions followed by 175 core items organized into seven specific domains. For each item, participants first provide a binary response (Yes/No) regarding the presence of an unmet need. If an unmet need is indicated, they then rate its severity on a six-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (“not significant”) to 6 (“highly significant”).

Language Available: English.

Population Group: Human; Male; Female.

Age Group: Adulthood (18 years & older), specifically targeting Young Adulthood (18-29 years), Thirties (30-39 years), and Middle Age (40-64 years).

Population Details: The target respondents are young community-living stroke survivors. The instrument was initially evaluated in a sample of participants aged 18–55 at the time of their stroke, located in Australia.

Test Methodology: The instrument utilizes a self-assessment format, relying entirely on the individual’s subjective perception and reporting of their personal unmet needs and the significance of those needs.

Keywords

Needs, Stroke Survivors, Rehabilitation Outcomes, Self-Report, Psychosocial Needs, Community Integration, Unmet Needs.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Julie Bernhardt: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2787-8484; Vincent Thijs: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6614-8417.

Affiliation Email addresses: [email protected] (Corresponding Author).

Correspondence Address: Austin Health, Neurology Department, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The following details relate to the usage and development of the NEEDS Questionnaire:

• Permissions: Contact Corresponding Author (Vincent Thijs).

• Fee: No fee reported for non-commercial use.

• Commercial Status: Not commercial.

• Test Year: 2023.

Reference’s

Sapuppo, D., Bernhardt, J., Carvalho, L. B., Churilov, L., & Thijs, V. (2023). Self-evaluation of personal needs by community-living young stroke survivors using an online English language questionnaire. Disability and Rehabilitation: An International, Multidisciplinary Journal, 45(11), 1830–1835. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2022.2076935.

Items of the Community Personal Needs Assessment Questionnaire

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

The NEEDS Questionnaire consists of 175 items. These items are distributed across seven distinct domains to comprehensively assess various aspects of unmet needs experienced by young stroke survivors. The domains and their corresponding item ranges are:

• Healthcare Experience: Questions 6 to 39

• Impairments from Stroke: Questions 40 to 80

• Everyday Activities: Questions 81 to 94

• Work or Study: Questions 95 to 116

• Finances: Questions 117 to 124

• Relationships: Questions 125 to 137

• Social Participation: Questions 138 to 146