Determining intensity of need of high-risk maternal and infant clients

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.