The Gerontologist, Vol 33, Issue 4 453-460, Copyright © 1993 by The Gerontological Society of America
Defining needs, defining systems: a critical analysis
A Dill
Department of Sociology, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912.
This article examines the model of need assessment commonly used in social
service programs for older adults. Whereas this model defines need as an
individual attribute, remediable through programmatic intervention, an
alternative formulation suggests that organizational imperatives shape the
definition of client need while obscuring their own role in the production
of this information. A case study and historical analysis assess the roots
of this process and its consequences for clients, staff, and aging
programs.
