A needs analysis compares what people need with what they can actually use.
Define your age group and area, then ask about everyday journeys and priorities. Older residents differ in mobility, income, language, household support and preferences. Do not treat age as a complete explanation of someone's needs.
Audit a small set of relevant features: route continuity, crossings, gradients, shade, seating and toilets. State the scoring rules before collecting data. A facility may exist but be unaffordable, hard to reach, closed at useful times or feel unsafe. Measure these barriers separately where possible.
Ask residents to describe a journey, or accompany them where suitable, to understand their experience. Obtain consent and agree suitable arrangements. Include residents who rarely use public spaces as well as frequent users. Staff or caregiver accounts can add context but should not automatically replace residents' own views.
Prioritise recommendations using both need and feasibility. Explain who benefits, who remains excluded, costs and maintenance. WHO's age-friendly approach supports participation by older people; an attractive photograph of a new facility is not evidence that all needs were met.
Step by step
Listen first
Ask diverse residents which activities or journeys are difficult and why.
Audit the relevant features
Use observable criteria and check actual routes rather than straight lines alone.
Recommend with limits
Link each proposed change to evidence, beneficiaries and remaining barriers.
Worked example: A bench is only one part of access
Residents request resting places on a clinic route. An audit shows seats already exist, but none are shaded and one is separated from the pavement by a step. Repairing access and adding shade may help more than increasing the raw seat count.
Watch out for this
The researcher can decide what all older residents need.
Professional observations and residents' priorities contribute different evidence. Include varied voices and investigate disagreement.
Check your understanding
A park-user survey finds high satisfaction. Can this establish that the park meets all older residents' needs?
- Yes, users know the park best.
- No, residents excluded by access barriers may be missing.
- No, satisfaction can never be studied.