Iranian Journal of Medical Education

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Introduction. Need Assessment is an inseparable element of educational planning and optimization of human resources. Identifying educational needs can increase the efficacy of educational plans. The goal of this research was to investigate the characteristics of an appropriate need assessment model and also determine the most applicable need assessment models according to the viewpoints of health directors and experts in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences and Health services. Methods. In this descriptive-qualitative research 32 health directors and their assistants and 31 staff experts of Health Networks in Isfahan were studied. The data were collected through a questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by content validity and its reliability by test-re-test. Then the data were analyzed by SPSS software using frequency distribution and Ch2 test. Results. The proper patterns for need assessment of the understudy population have the following characteristics: They define need as the distance between existing and desired situation, consider society, goals and its values as need assessment sources, use direct observation and questionnaire as need assessment tools, recognize need in municipality, consider the participation rate of the population as the criterion for determination of the model, apply need assessment timing in several steps, gather people representatives at special places as the most suitable location, use Delphi method as the most suitable executive method, apply purpose axis patterns and compositional patterns as the most applicable models. Conclusion. Educational need assessment is the first and most essential step in educational planning for medical education, and health and therapeutic system. Determining the needs based on precise patterns and techniques can increase the effectiveness and quality of planning in this system. It is recommended to train health directors and experts regarding suitable need assessment models.

Keywords: Need assessment models, Need, Educational need assessment, Tool, Technique, Criterion

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