Training needs analysis: an evaluation framework.

Training needs analysis (TNA) is the first step in the training and educational strategy of an organisation and is crucial to meeting the continuing professional development needs of the healthcare workforce and service. TNA must be carefully planned, conducted and have clear outcomes to ensure that training interventions are implemented effectively and that they lead to meaningful changes in service delivery. However, there is a death of literature on approaches to critique TNA. This article describes a framework developed specifically to evaluate the effectiveness of TNA. The framework combines approaches that have been used to evaluate conventional research studies and audit.