The identification of unmet health-related needs is crucial for the development of a needs-based healthcare policy and innovation. Meeting unmet needs is a common objective of many stakeholders in the health system. Although there is no single definition of unmet health-related needs, there is a consensus that these can be approached both from the perspective of the individual patient and from the societal perspective.
In the NEED project, health-related needs are defined as the specific needs related to a particular health condition, which encompasses the needs of individuals affected by the condition and possible broader societal needs that result from the impact of the condition on segments of society not directly afflicted by the condition (e.g. transmissibility, impact on informal caregivers, environmental impact).
Identifying health-related needs must happen in a scientifically valid manner to allow for evidence-based decision making along the lifecycle of health-related interventions, from development to reimbursement, post-implementation follow-up and application. There is currently no research structure in place to develop, organise and/or coordinate this scientific activity, while the expertise, experience and part of the data are available at several Belgian federal institutions. In 2021, KCE advised the minister of public health to mandate an existing independent scientific organisation to take up the responsibility of coordinating unmet needs research, generating a solid evidence base and exploring possible international collaborations for this activity (see link).
Further information is available on the NEED website and in these publications.
- An ethical analysis of the NEED framework: exploring the moral relevance and relative ethical urgency of its criteria
- Needs Examination, Evaluation and Dissemination (NEED): identification of unmet health-related needs associated with psychotic disorders
- Exploring and applying artificial intelligence tools for grey literature searches within the NEED initiative
- NEED research Toolbox: instruments and tools for examining unmet health-related patient and societal needs
- Protocol for NEED (needs examination, evaluation and dissemination) research projects
- NEED assessment framework 2025: EU expert consensus and core version
- Identification, evaluation, and selection of health conditions for the NEED research programme
- NEED: assessment of the unmet needs of patients and society
