THE INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER PRESENTS AN OVERVIEW OF NEEDS ASSESSMENT; A DEFINITION IS OFFERED, RESEARCH AND PLANNING ACTIVITIES ARE SUMMARIZED, AND THE PLANNING OF THE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM IS OUTLINED. THE FIVE ASSESSMENT APPROACHES DESCRIBED INCLUDE THE KEY INFORMATION APPROACH, THE COMMUNITY FORUM APPROACH, THE RATES-UNDER-TREATMENT APPROACH, THE SOCIAL INDICATORS APPROACH, AND THE SURVEY APPROACH. A DEFINITION IS OFFERED AND DESIGNS AND DATA SOURCES ARE DISCUSSED FOR EACH OF THE APPROACHES, THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF EACH APPROACH ARE PRESENTED, AND ACTIVITIES CHECKLISTS ARE PROVIDED. STEPS ARE OUTLINED FOR WRITING REPORTS AND UTILIZING FINDINGS. THE SECOND PART OF THE TEXT DISCUSSES METHODS AND TECHNIQUES AVAILABLE FOR NEEDS ASSESSMENT. DEFINITIONS AND CONCEPTS OF SAMPLING ARE PRESENTED, AND THE QUALITY AND ACCURACY OF SAMPLES ARE DISCUSSED. DATA GATHERING TECHNIQUES INCLUDE PERSON-TO-PERSON INTERVIEWING, MAIL SURVEYING, TELEPHONE INTERVIEWING, AND USE OF COMBINATION APPROACHES. THE CONCLUDING CHAPTERS DISCUSS THE CONSTRUCTION OF RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS AND RECRUITMENT, TRAINING, AND SUPERVISION OF INTERVIEWERS IN FIELD SURVEYS. THE QUESTIONNAIRES FOR KEY INFORMANT AND COMMUNITY FORUM INTERVIEWS ARE PROVIDED IN THE APPENDIXES. THE RATES-UNDER-TREATMENT DATA COLLECTION FORM IS ALSO PRESENTED ALONG WITH ITEMS FOR SOCIAL INDICATORS ANALYSIS, CENSUS TRACT MAPS, THE FLORIDA HEALTH AND FAMILY LIFE SURVEY INSTRUMENT, AND A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SCALES. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (DAG)