Researching long-term care for older people using the Rapid Assessment of Needs and Services method

Abstract

The method of Rapid Assessment of Needs and Services is presented in the article as the basic method for researching the needs of different groups of people and as ground for the development of responses (services) in communities. It is one of the basic research methods used in a holistic and hermeneutic approach to the development of social work theory and practice. The method is a combination of qualitative research methods, techniques and approaches mainly including grounded theory, ethnography and action research, which, depending on the research aims, is further complemented with a set of methods from quantitative research methodology. The decision about the choice of research methods and procedures combined within the Rapid Assessment of Needs and Services method depends on each individual research situation and the aims and objectives of the concrete research project. Depending on the aim and objectives of the Rapid Assessment of Needs and Services, one of the methods can be prevalent or all methods can be represented in an equal share or in combination with other social scientific research methods, both qualitative and quantitative, which is presented in this article with the examples of three studies on long-term care in Slovenia.