Conducting statewide needs assessments for persons with traumatic brain injury

The Traumatic Brain Injury Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-166) gave new author ity to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in the Unite d States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to establish a gran t program for states to assist in addressing the needs of persons with trau matic brain injury (TBI). The resulting State Demonstration Grant Program h as made available two categories of grants: planning and implementation. Pl anning grants are awarded to assist states in building infrastructure throu gh the development of four core components. One of the core components is a statewide needs and resource assessment encompassing the full spectrum of services, from initial acute treatment through rehabilitation and long-term community supports. In 1999. assessments completed in 11 states were subje cted to a comparative analysis to identify trends across states and to extr act salient issues for the State Demonstration Grant Program. This article summarizes the context of the HRSA-funded needs assessments and contrasts t he methods of needs assessment utilized. Over-arching issues are discussed, including exemplary qualitative and quantitative methods. and the diversit y of theoretical models employed in designing assessments and interpreting findings. Several limitations in approaches were also identified, including shortcomings of convenience samples for conducting mail surveys and the un likely validity of using a needs and resource discrepancy approach to ident ify gaps in services.