The relational structure of human services planning: an input-output analysis

Area of Science:

• Human Services Planning
• Operations Research
• Health Economics

Background:

• Human needs and services can be quantified using service standards and units.
• The relationship between need, service, and service standard mirrors economic concepts of demand, supply, and price.
• Planning human services requires understanding the interplay between service provision and population requirements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the relationship between human needs and human services.
• To introduce a service standard matrix for analyzing human service systems.
• To identify optimum planning conditions for human services.

Main Methods:

• Defined service standards as the minimum number of service units per person.
• Developed a service standard matrix for populations with multiple service receivers and providers.
• Utilized concepts analogous to economic input-output matrices and principal eigenvectors to analyze system equilibrium.

Main Results:

• The service standard matrix functions similarly to an economic input-output matrix.
• The principal eigenvector of the service standard matrix indicates activity level ratios in equilibrium.
• Identified two equilibria for human service systems, including those with both providers and non-providers.

Conclusions:

• The study provides a quantifiable framework for human services planning.
• Optimum planning conditions can be determined by applying the identified equilibria.
• This model is effective when service standards and population demographics are known.