title: Determining intensity of need of high-risk maternal and infant clients.
abstract: Sound funding decisions by policymakers require data that relate health care services to both client need and client outcome. However, client need for care is not easy to express quantitatively, particularly in the realm of preventive and health promotion services. Application of the Community Health Intensity Rating Scale (CHIRS) with high-risk infants and prenatal clients revealed that differences in intensity of need, particularly in contextual and behavioral domains, helped to explain variation in amount of care received. The CHIRS holds promise of providing the language and measurement with which to articulate client need as the basis for cost-effective multidisciplinary care.
authors.affiliation: University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Nursing, Omaha.
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Hays
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Kroeger
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Tachenko-Achord
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Peters
mesh_terms: D002662:Child Health Services / Q000592:standards; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research; D003152:Community Health Nursing / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D010348:Patient Care Team; D011247:Pregnancy; D018566:Pregnancy, High-Risk; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000592:standards; D012189:Retrospective Studies