Expressed need is the problem revealed through health care–seeking behavior. In other words, expressed need is manifested as the demand for services and the market behavior of the target audience. Measures of expressed need include the number of people who request services, the types of services sought, and utilization rates.
Normative need is a lack, deficit, inadequacy, or excess as defined by experts and health pro- fessionals, usually based on a scientific notion of what ought to be or what the ideal is from a health perspective. A norm or normal value is used as the gauge for determining if a need exists. For example, a community with an infant mortality rate above the national average would have a normative need related to causes of infant mortality. At an individual level, having a body