Ali, G.; Lalani, N.; Ali, C.; Nadia,

Ali, G.; Lalani, N.; Ali, C.; Nadia, A.M.; (2015) Community mental health initiatives in Pakistan, Nursing Standard, 29(22) This article focuses on the mental health initiatives in Pakistan and how they impact and influence the needs assessment approach of the nursing community. In order to promote effective mental health nursing, the study looked at how to identify the mental health needs in local communities through the use of action research and activities that relied on needs assessment.

The study found that there was a positive transformation in the patients, nursing educators and postgraduate nursing students when recognizing the challenges that abound with the mental health needs in Pakistan. This study is an excellent example of how the needs assessment approach, when complemented by mental health initiatives, benefits the mental health community. Appleton, J.V. & Cowley, S.; (2008) Health visiting assessment -- unpacking critical attributes in health visitor needs assessment practice: A case study, International Journal of Nursing Studies, 45(2) p.

232-245 Assessing family health needs in the UK is an ongoing service provided by health visitors (or health helpers) who visit with the respective families in order to determine the best possible manner in which to address their health needs. This study determined that there are characteristics that are an important part of the needs assessment, and that those characteristics guide the health visitor in an effective manner towards completing an efficient and comprehensive needs assessment.

According to the study the characteristics reflect the basic principles of health visiting assessment practice. This particular study would be most helpful to the nursing community that conducts in-home evaluations and total family needs assessments Houston, A.M. & Cowley, S.; (2002) An empowerment approach to needs assessment in health visiting practice, Journal of Clinical Nursing, 11(5) p.

640-650 The Houston & Cowley paper was an early indication of the needs assessment framework and the amount of tweaking that has gone on in the nursing community regarding how best to implement the needs assessment approach. Houston & Cowley attempted to determine how effective needs assessment would be using an empowerment framework and demonstrating a flexible approach to needs assessment. What the study concluded was that the empowerment approach to needs assessment was 'user friendly' (p.

649) for both the medical practitioners and the patients who often expressed delight in that they felt enabled to join the prioritizing process. Such a conclusion likely leads to the belief that collaborative needs assessment would be an effective tool in a nurses toolbox, and that an empowerment approach to needs assessment is another method of ensuring that the total patient is addressed rather than just the immediate medical issues. Lockwood, A.

& Marshall, M.: (1999) Can a standardized needs assessment be used to improve the care of people with severe mental disorders? A pilot study of 'needs feedback', Journal of Advanced Nursing, 30(6) p. 1408-1415 The Lockwood & Marshall study helped determine that "needs" based care in the field of nursing can best be implemented by looking, observing, talking with and diagnosis the patient from a total needs viewpoint rather than the more traditional diagnose and.