Researching limiting long-term illness

Needs assessment has become one of the cornerstones for commissioning health care in the UK but, as yet, no agreed methodological framework exists. This study attempts to build on a number of different approaches used in needs assessment in order to formulate a more complex and integrated model. We have taken limiting long-term illness (LLI) as a starting point and examined its prevalence within the primary care setting in an area of North Staffordshire. This was followed by the application of a health status measure on two sub-samples (those reporting LLI and those not reporting LLI). The diagnostic assessments of the GP was placed alongside the results of the health status measure in order to compare self-assessment with the professional perspective. Finally, in-depth interviews with people with LLI were carried out examining their own experience of ill-health. We argue that this detailed and complex needs assessment allows for a more targeted approach to commissioning and service development.