Different Levels Of Need Research Articles

Assessing the Dual Impact of the Social Media Platforms on Psychological Well-being: A Multiple-Option Descriptive-Predictive Framework

AbstractA comprehensive and recent exploration into the relationship between Social Media Platforms (SMP) usage and Social Media Disorders (SMD) is currently investigated as a topic of increasing importance given the surge in SMP use over the last two decades. The approach of analyzing data from 479 individuals across various SMP using clustering is particularly noteworthy for identifying the risk profile of the users and understanding the diverse impacts of SMP on mental health. In this paper, a multiple-option descriptive-predictive framework for assessing the impact of the SMP on the psychological well-being is proposed. This method effectively categorizes mental health states into distinct groups, each indicating different levels of need for professional intervention. Out of 5 clustering algorithms, K-prototypes proved to bring the best results with a silhouette score of 0.596, whereas for predicting clusters, Random Forest (RF) and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) outperformed K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) and Support Vector Classifier (SVC), providing the highest accuracy and F1 score (0.993). Moreover, we analyze the connectedness between each SMP, anxiety and depression. Two distinct clusters emerged: Cluster 0 “Stable Professionals”, Cluster 1 “Vibrant Students”, and new instances are seamlessly predicted. While Youtube is the most popular platform among the respondents, Instagram shows a relatively higher correlation with both anxiety (0.256) and depression (0.186), indicating a stronger association with these disorders compared to other platforms.

Demand analysis of health care services for community-dwelling breast cancer survivors based on the Kano model: A cross-sectional study

ObjectivesProviding satisfactory healthcare services for breast cancer survivors can effectively reduce their burden and the pressure on medical resources. The aim of this study was to explore health care service demands for community-dwelling breast cancer survivors using the Kano model. MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted from January to March 2023 among breast cancer survivors discharged from a tertiary cancer hospital. Participants were asked to fill out a self-designed questionnaire involving the Kano model, which helped to categorize and prioritize the attributes of healthcare services. The questionnaire included 30 health care services. Additionally, their social demographic characteristics were collected during the survey. ResultsA total of 296 valid questionnaires were collected, and demand attributes of the 30 health care services were evaluated. The findings revealed that one of 30 services was classified as “must-be attributes” (body image management), 13 as “one-dimensional attributes” (focused on medical security support, health management, and health counseling), 3 as “attractive attributes” (focused on communication needs and telehealth services), and 11 as “indifferent attributes” (mainly in the area of psycho-social services). ConclusionsBreast cancer survivors in the community have different levels of need for various health care services. It’s crucial for healthcare providers to identify these needs and devise effective strategies to deliver the appropriate services. Services with must-be and one-dimensional attributes should be given priority, and efforts should be made to provide services with attractive attributes, hence improving the quality of life of breast cancer survivors.

Shattered hierarchy: how the Gaza conflict demolished Maslow’s pyramid of needs

Conflicts and wars have a profound impact on human needs, as vividly illustrated by the ongoing crisis in Gaza. This paper aims to systematically examine how these crises affect individuals’ ability to meet their basic and higher-order needs, as conceptualized by Maslow’s hierarchy. By employing Maslow’s framework, this paper seeks to uncover the specific ways in which conflict disrupts the fulfillment of essential human needs and to identify targeted interventions that can mitigate these effects. Through this focused lens, I hope to contribute to a deeper understanding that supports efforts to end the war. In this paper, a methodical approach that integrates a review of online news, media reports, published official reports from international organizations, and academic publications was adopted to identify the current challenges in Gaza impacting the different levels of need. An exploration through the framework of Maslow’s hierarchy revealed the extensive humanitarian challenges stemming from the blockade and military actions since 2008. There are significant disruptions across all levels of Maslow’s hierarchy. Despite the severe compromise in basic needs like safety and physiological sustenance, there is a notable resilience in the pursuit of transcendence needs among the residents by transcending personal suffering through acts of solidarity, altruism, and community engagement and exhibiting a deeper sense of spirituality and faith that provide solace and a sense of connection to a larger purpose. There is an urgent need to end the conflict, facilitate unrestricted aid, and address the multifaceted needs of Gaza’s population. Strategies that support both immediate survival and long-term personal and communal growth in the face of adversity are critically needed. Essential initiatives include establishing community support networks for critical needs like food, shelter, and healthcare, alongside promoting economic stability through livelihood projects. Additionally, the development of online education programs offering vocational training and digital literacy, in partnership with international institutions, is crucial. These initiatives, tailored to Gaza’s context and aimed at overcoming siege-related barriers, are vital for empowering residents with the skills for community rebuilding, economic self-sufficiency, and enhanced social cohesion. Such strategies are indispensable for addressing immediate adversities while laying a foundation for sustainable future growth.

Assessed and self-perceived unmet needs for mental health care in the general population in Antwerp

Introduction: A public mental health care approach requires knowledge about which proportion of the population needs mental health care, and which people need it but don’t seek or receive it and why.
 Who is it for? We investigated (unmet) needs for mental health care in the general population to optimize the distribution of mental health care services, which benefits all Antwerp citizens who need mental health care.
 Involvement and engagement: Important stakeholders who were involved are the (Antwerp) psychiatric hospitals, who funded the research and were involved in the design of the study and interpretation of results. The involvement and engagement of (ex) patients in mental health care was limited, but a pilot test of the survey was conducted with this group.
 Method: A representative sample was invited in 2021 to participate in a population survey about mental wellbeing and mental health care use in Antwerp. A total of 1208 individuals aged 15 – 80 years old participated. We investigated unmet needs for mental health care using a normative approach (assessed mental health problems) and subjective approach (self-perceived mental health problems)
 Results: A total of 10.4% of the sample was defined as having a need for mental health care but only half of them used health care for their mental health, resulting in a population prevalence of 5.5% clinically assessed unmet mental health needs. Among all people who did not use mental health care, 12.1% perceived a mental health need (fully unmet), and 23.3% of mental health care users perceived the care as insufficient (partially unmet), leading to a total population prevalence of 14.0% perceived unmet needs. However, more women and younger people perceived unmet needs, while clinically assessed unmet needs were higher among men and older people.
 Learning: Estimates of met and unmet mental health needs are complex given the diversity of operationalizations of different levels of need, and can only be established by a dialectic of individual and populational perspectives. Assessed and perceived (unmet) mental health needs are both relevant and complementary but are related to different factors. Nonetheless, a general conclusion is that the prevalence of unmet mental health needs is high. Some vulnerable groups should be targeted for detection of mental health problems and interventions, for example through outreaching care.
 Next steps: Further research should explore how assessed and perceived needs interact, and how this is predictive of help seeking and mental health outcomes.

21 Cross-sectoral Care for Transitional Aged Youth (TAY) with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Intellectual Disabilities (ASD/IDD)

Abstract Background The Transition Clinic for Youth and Young Adults (TAY clinic) with ASD/IDD is a unique partnership between the Developmental Sector and Health care sector. Surrey Place Centre, St. Michaels Family Health Teams and Developmental Paediatrics work with families of adolescents and young adults ages 14-22 to help transition from paediatrics-based healthcare and developmental services to adult sectors using a structured approach to transition. This clinic was a pilot project over the past 5 years, and we are using a mix-methods study to evaluate the implementation of the clinic and its impact on the lives of TAY with IDD and their caregivers. Objectives To describe patient and caregiver characteristics, usage of clinic, transition goals stated and achieved, and level of support needed. Design/Methods Quantitative data was collected using standardized forms including demographics, transition planning goals, and dates of applications to critical services like Developmental Service Ontario and Ontario Disability Support Program. The frequency, intensity and duration of transition planning support provided in the clinic was documented, as well as involvement of crisis services, child protection services, networks of specialized care, and hospital admissions. Results To date, 94 families have been supported through this clinic, with notable differences in the intensity and type of services required. Families were evenly distributed across three levels of transitional support need: (1) required consultation only; (2) required short-term intervention and follow up from the team with future crisis planning; and (3) families with extreme complexity, disconnected from the developmental sector and requiring intensive support and, at times, crisis care. In this 3rd group, 30% were regular emergency and crisis service users because of significant risk of harm or death to client or caregiver associated with physical or mental health concerns, and 15% were at risk of homelessness. Barriers to social determinants of health (e.g., housing, food security, social support) and inequities (based on race, immigration status, employment, English language proficiency) were present in all cases. Across all 3 groups, trajectories within the current systems of care were often apparent years before their transition. Conclusion Cross-sector models of care are feasible for TAY with IDD. This model of care identified different levels of need for TAY with IDD. Barriers to transition support are rooted in inequities and are often present years prior to transition. Paediatricians can help with earlier identification of families who require and deserve more comprehensive support.

Fair and Efficient Allocation of Scarce Resources Based on Predicted Outcomes: Implications for Homeless Service Delivery

Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and algorithmic techniques in general, provide two crucial abilities with the potential to improve decision-making in the context of allocation of scarce societal resources. They have the ability to flexibly and accurately model treatment response at the individual level, potentially allowing us to better match available resources to individuals. In addition, they have the ability to reason simultaneously about the effects of matching sets of scarce resources to populations of individuals. In this work, we leverage these abilities to study algorithmic allocation of scarce societal resources in the context of homelessness. In communities throughout the United States, there is constant demand for an array of homeless services intended to address different levels of need. Allocations of housing services must match households to appropriate services that continuously fluctuate in availability, while inefficiencies in allocation could “waste” scarce resources as households will remain in-need and re-enter the homeless system, increasing the overall demand for homeless services. This complex allocation problem introduces novel technical and ethical challenges. Using administrative data from a regional homeless system, we formulate the problem of “optimal” allocation of resources given data on households with need for homeless services. The optimization problem aims to allocate available resources such that predicted probabilities of household re-entry are minimized. The key element of this work is its use of a counterfactual prediction approach that predicts household probabilities of re-entry into homeless services if assigned to each service. Through these counterfactual predictions, we find that this approach has the potential to improve the efficiency of the homeless system by reducing re-entry, and, therefore, system-wide demand. However, efficiency comes with trade-offs - a significant fraction of households are assigned to services that increase probability of re-entry. To address this issue as well as the inherent fairness considerations present in any context where there are insufficient resources to meet demand, we discuss the efficiency, equity, and fairness issues that arise in our work and consider potential implications for homeless policies.

A qualitative study of patients with Cancer of Unknown Primary: Perceptions of communication, understanding of diagnosis and genomic testing, and information needs.

Patients with Cancer of Unknown Primary (CUP) commonly report poor understanding of their illness and high levels of psychological distress. Despite the potential benefits to CUP patients, there is a paucity of research exploring the reasons behind poor understanding of a CUP diagnosis. The aim of this study was to understand patients' experiences of communication with doctors, their understanding of diagnosis and the role of genomic testing, as well as their information needs. Semi-structured interviews explored CUP patients' perceptions of communication with their doctors, understanding of their illness, and their needs regarding medical information. Qualitative inductive thematic analysis of transcribed audio-recordings was employed. Nineteen patients were recruited from within a prospective cohort study involving routine genomic testing of CUP patients. CUP patients had varied perceptions of communication with doctors as well as different levels of need, readiness, and capacity for information. Some patients felt well understood and supported by their doctors while others did not. Many patients reported feeling overwhelmed and shocked when receiving their cancer diagnosis and emphasized the importance of family support in receiving and understanding medical information. While patients understood the implications of genomic testing for treatment and diagnosis, few had a detailed understanding of genomic testing. Patients' experience of communication and understanding of CUP could be potentially improved by clinicians' assessment of the communication style preferred by each patient and their family and the development of online resources to meet their evolving information needs.

Met or unmet need for long-term care: Formal and informal care in southern Europe

Southern European countries share many common traits but there are differences among them that can justify different levels of need and of unmet need for social long-term care (LTC). In our study, we quantify met and unmet need for LTC for older people, in the four southern European countries – Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Greece – and we analyse their determinants, using multinomial logits and data from the sixth wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). We analyse the association between several demographic and socio-economic factors and the chances of having needs, and of receiving or not different types of care. Although most of the effects of the explanatory variables are valid in all the countries, some factors are more important in some countries than in others. Portugal stands out as the country where people aged fifty or older have more care needs and, as a result, a higher risk of having people with unmet social care needs, compared to the other countries. Also, there is evidence that Portuguese women are especially penalized. In Greece and Portugal, people with the same characteristics have a higher probability of receiving exclusively informal care. Curiously, despite its suboptimal LTC system, the Greek reliance on informal care leads to superior performance in terms of unmet needs of people with ADL limitations. Italy and Spain show similar traits, particularly concerning the probabilities of having care needs and experiencing unmet needs. However, in Spain, receiving exclusively informal care is much less probable. Our findings suggest caution in the treatment of southern European countries as a uniform cluster and the need to take the differences into consideration when defining a policy to promote disability-free ageing or to guarantee that support is provided when needed.

Demand analysis of telenursing among empty-nest elderly individuals with chronic diseases based on the Kano model.

AimThe increase in empty-nest elderly individuals with chronic diseases poses a major challenge to the provision of public health services in China. Telenursing can effectively relieve the pressure of public health services to a certain extent. This study aims to explore the telenursing needs of empty-nest elderly individuals with chronic diseases based on the Kano model to provide references for improving the quality of telenursing.MethodsParticipants were selected from five rural communities and five urban communities in Yangzhou and Nantong, Jiangsu Province, China. A total of 348 empty-nest elderly individuals with chronic diseases were included. The participants received a sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire, and their telenursing needs were surveyed and analyzed based on the Kano model.ResultsOf the 15 quality attributes evaluated by the participants, 3 telenursing services were categorized as “must-be quality”, 5 were categorized as “one-dimensional quality”, 5 were categorized as “attractive quality”, and 2 were categorized as “indifferent quality”. The proportion of individuals who desired telenursing services ranged from 47.41 to 83.62%, the better values (satisfaction) ranged from 35.29–83.98%, and the worse values (dissatisfaction) ranged from 10.91 to 63.27%. There were no significant differences in any items of telenursing needs for between participants in Yangzhou and Nantong (all P > 0.05), and there were also no significant differences in all items between rural and urban communities (all P > 0.05).ConclusionBased on the Kano model, it was found that empty-nest elderly individuals with chronic diseases had a positive attitude toward telenursing and that they had different levels of need for different telenursing services. These findings provided a theoretical basis for medical decision-makers to formulate medical policies and provided a scientific foundation for nursing managers to improve telenursing services to meet the needs of the empty-nest elderly individuals with chronic diseases.

Supporting personal preferences and different levels of need in online help-seeking: a comparative study of help-seeking technologies for mental health

ABSTRACT The Internet offers help-seekers an abundance of resources that can potentially support their mental health. However, people often have trouble in finding personally relevant resources. Very few specialized mental health help-seeking technologies currently address this need. Instead, help-seeking typically begins with a known website or web-search. To understand how help-seeking technologies could be better designed, we conducted a study comparing existing technologies with two novel help-seeking prototypes. These prototypes were informed by empirically grounded design recommendations, which emphasize the need for connectedness, accessible and creditable information, personalization, and immediacy. Findings show that the resources recommended by current technologies are often experienced as ‘overwhelming’ or ‘overly-medicalized’. The prototypes successfully improved connectedness, immediacy, and personalization, but were less successful in their ability to support symptom-based help-seeking. Based on our findings we contribute recommendations for integrated help-seeking technologies, which can guide people to mental health resources appropriate to both their personal preferences and current level of need.

Patterns of Intimate Partner Violence and the Harsh Parenting of Children.

While research shows that adult intimate partner violence (IPV) and harsh parenting of children co-occur, less information is available about whether specific types or patterns of IPV create greater risk for harsh parenting, and whether these patterns vary by gender. This study used latent class analysis (LCA) to examine unique patterns of IPV perpetration and victimization among men and women, and variation across patterns by gender, parenting status, and harsh parenting of children. Data are from the Lehigh Longitudinal study (n = 332). LCA produced four classes of IPV perpetration and victimization (Minor Psychological; None; Moderate; and Severe), which were invariant by gender. Although any level of IPV was associated with an increase in harsh parenting, patterns of IPV characterized by a greater number of and more severe types, were particularly associated with the use of harsh parenting toward their children for both mothers and fathers. Parents were overrepresented in all IPV classes compared to the No-IPV class. Results suggest the need for more broad screening and increased supports for parents that are tailored to different levels of need.

Patients' Perceptions of Integrated Care Among Medicare Beneficiaries by Level of Need for Health Services.

Requirements for integrating care across providers, settings, and over time increase with patients' needs. Health care providers' ability to offer care that patients experience as integrated may vary among patients with different levels of need. We explore the variation in patients' perceptions of integrated care among Medicare beneficiaries based on the beneficiary's level of need using ordinary least square regression for each of four high-need groups: beneficiaries (a) with complex chronic conditions, (b) with frailties, (c) below 65 with disability, and (d) with any (of the first three) high needs. We control for beneficiary demographics and other factors affecting integrated care, and we conduct sensitivity analyses controlling for multiple individual chronic conditions. We find significant positive associations with level of need for provider support for self-directed care and medication and home health management. Controlling for multiple individual chronic conditions reduces effect sizes and number of significant relationships.

Different Levels of Need to Belong and Information Sensitivity: The Effects of Perceived Warmth and Competence on Continuance Intention to Friendship Virtual Conversation Agents

Different Levels of Need to Belong and Information Sensitivity: The Effects of Perceived Warmth and Competence on Continuance Intention to Friendship Virtual Conversation Agents

To Trust or to Think

People supported by AI-powered decision support tools frequently overrely on the AI: they accept an AI's suggestion even when that suggestion is wrong. Adding explanations to the AI decisions does not appear to reduce the overreliance and some studies suggest that it might even increase it. Informed by the dual-process theory of cognition, we posit that people rarely engage analytically with each individual AI recommendation and explanation, and instead develop general heuristics about whether and when to follow the AI suggestions. Building on prior research on medical decision-making, we designed three cognitive forcing interventions to compel people to engage more thoughtfully with the AI-generated explanations. We conducted an experiment (N=199), in which we compared our three cognitive forcing designs to two simple explainable AI approaches and to a no-AI baseline. The results demonstrate that cognitive forcing significantly reduced overreliance compared to the simple explainable AI approaches. However, there was a trade-off: people assigned the least favorable subjective ratings to the designs that reduced the overreliance the most. To audit our work for intervention-generated inequalities, we investigated whether our interventions benefited equally people with different levels of Need for Cognition (i.e., motivation to engage in effortful mental activities). Our results show that, on average, cognitive forcing interventions benefited participants higher in Need for Cognition more. Our research suggests that human cognitive motivation moderates the effectiveness of explainable AI solutions.

Practical Approaches and Knowledge Gaps in the Care for Children With Leukodystrophies.

Leukodystrophies are a group of neurodegenerative genetic disorders that affect approximately 1 in 7500 individuals. Despite therapeutic progress in individual leukodystrophies, guidelines in neurologic care are sparse and consensus among physicians and caregivers remains a challenge. At patient advocacy meetings hosted by Hunter’s Hope from 2016-2018, multidisciplinary experts and caregivers met to conduct a literature review, identify knowledge gaps and summarize best practices regarding neurologic care. Stages of severity in leukodystrophies guided recommendations to address different levels of need based on a newly defined system of disease severity. Four core neurologic domains prioritized by families were identified and became the focus of this guideline: sleep, pain, seizures/epilepsy, and language/cognition. Based on clinical severity, the following categories were used: presymptomatic, early symptomatic, intermediate symptomatic, and advanced symptomatic. Across the leukodystrophies, neurologic care should be tailored to stages of severity while accounting for unique aspects of every disease and multiple knowledge gaps present. Standardized tools and surveys can help guide treatment but should not overburden families.

Developing the Expanded Food Security Screener and Pilot Testing It for Prioritization of Applicants to the Home-Delivered Meal Program

Food insecurity is multidimensional and may be an outcome not only of economic need but also of inability to prepare meals and shop for food, especially in older adults. As the prevalence of waiting lists for the Older Americans Act home-delivered meal program is increasing, we expanded the 6-item US Department of Agriculture Household Food Security Survey Module, named it the Expanded Food Security Screener, and used it to develop a 5-level prioritization system to assess need for a meal based on economic access and ability to shop and cook, with or without help. We pilot-tested the tool and its prioritization system on older adults who applied for the program. The tool effectively distributes applicants into 5 different levels of need. The priority levels were generally appropriate (75%), based on follow-up assessment by programs. The tool is useful to set priorities for a waiting list and/or to identify need in the community.

The Role of Figurative Complexity in the Comprehension and Appreciation of Advertisements

AbstractTo date, research in advertising has focussed almost exclusively on metaphor, with linguists and marketing scholars paying very little attention to alternative types of figurative expression. Beyond the finding that metaphor leads to an increased appreciation of advertisements, there has been surprisingly little research into how consumer response is affected by metonymy, or by metaphor–metonymy interactions. In this article, we present findings from a study that investigated the depth to which participants (n = 90) from a range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds (the UK, Spain, and China) were found to process 30 real-world adverts featuring creative metaphor and metonymy in multimodal format. We focus on the cross-cultural variation in terms of time taken to process, appreciation and perceived effectiveness of adverts, and on individual differences explained by different levels of need for cognition. We found significant variation in the understanding of advertisements containing metaphor, metonymy, and combinations of the two, between subjects and across nationalities in terms of (i) processing time, (ii) overall appeal, and (iii) the way in which participants interpreted the advertisements.

E-learning Contents for Foreign Language Communication Skill in Vocational Education and Training

The digital and ICT revolutions have had a significant influence on foreign language learning and teaching (FLLT). One of the remarkable innovations they have brought to FLLT is the virtual learning environment, where online resources are used to facilitate asynchronous and synchronous learning to promote student-centered learning in numerous ways. In this study we explore how ICT is integrated into the development of individually customized English language e-learning programs - particularly about preparing learners for the job market. A conceptual framework is provided to orient to the whole process of e-learning contents development. We elaborate how a learning content management system (LCMS) is made use of to create tailored e-learning contents for learners with different levels of need. Focus is given to the environment where subject matter experts, instructional designers, and developers work collaboratively to achieve the goal in hand. It also shows how the resulting e-learning contents are delivered to students via a learning management system (LMS), which is designed and built to manage and track individual users’ progress and performance. We made some suggestions for the effective implementation of e-learning contents in these contexts, drawing managerial and pedagogical implications for the application of elearning contents to other contexts.

Psychometric study of the Required Care Levels for People with Severe Mental Disorder Assessment Scale (ENAR-TMG)

IntroductionPeople with severe mental disorder have significant difficulties in everyday life that involve the need for continued support. These needs are not easily measurable with the currently available tools. Therefore, a multidimensional scale that assesses the different levels of need for care is proposed, including a study of its psychometric properties. MethodOne-hundred and thirty-nine patients (58% men) with a severe mental disorder were assessed using the Required Care Levels for People with Severe Mental Disorder Assessment Scale (ENAR-TMG), the Camberwell Assessment of Need scale, and the Health of the Nation Outcome Scales. ENAR-TMG's psychometric features were examined by: (a) evaluating 2 sources of validity evidence (evidence based on internal structure and evidence based on relations to other variables), and (b) estimating the internal consistency, temporal stability, inter-rater reliability, and sensitivity to change of scores of the ENAR-TMG's subscales. ResultsExploratory factor analyses revealed a one-factor structure for each of the theoretical dimensions of the scale, in which all but one showed a significant and positive correlation with the Camberwell Assessment of Need (range of r: 0.143–0.557) and Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (range of r: 0.241–0.474) scales. ENAR-TMG subscale scores showed acceptable internal consistency (range of ordinal α coefficients: 0.682–0.804), excellent test–retest (range of intraclass correlation coefficients: 0.889–0.999) and inter-rater reliabilities (range of intraclass correlation coefficients: 0.926–0.972), and satisfactory sensitivity to treatment-related changes (range of η2: 0.003–0.103). ConclusionsThe satisfactory psychometric behaviour of the ENAR-TMG makes the scale a promising tool to assess global functioning in people with a severe mental disorder.

The value of orthodontics: Do parents' willingness to pay values reflect the IOTN?

Given the limited evidence about the benefits of orthodontic treatment, many health care systems have rationed access to orthodontic care with the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) being one tool used to attempt to allocate resources based on need. However, it is not clear whether patient and public valuations of different levels of need (as described by the IOTN) reflect the resource allocation decisions. The aim of this project was therefore to determine the values parents placed on correction of malocclusions at different IOTN levels using the willingness to pay (WTP) technique. 401 parents of children attending hospital-based orthodontic clinics in the North of England were recruited to complete a questionnaire eliciting WTP for the correction of seven malocclusions with different IOTN scores. In addition demographic and orthodontic history characteristics were collected. Results were analysed with appropriate pairwise significance tests and regression. A significant difference in WTP was noted between all the possible pairs of malocclusions with the exception of overjets with moderate versus great need of treatments. At moderate levels, correction of crowding was valued less than overjet but this was reversed at great need levels. Very little of the variance in WTP was explained by the variables collected. When looking at factors affecting percentage difference between values for different pairs of malocclusions, in general, no factors predicted the magnitude of difference. Median valuations for correction of malocclusions vary significantly for different levels of need (as judged by IOTN), with increasing levels of need generating higher values. However, there was a limited effect of demographic or orthodontic characteristics on the magnitude of percentage difference in values for correcting malocclusions different levels of need.