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Feedback as a strategy for increasing the participation of consumers in the design, implementation, and evaluation of outpatient treatment programs for the chronic mentally disabled

Author

Linda Adele Anderson, University of the Pacific

Date of Award

1987

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Department

Graduate School

Abstract

Utilizing clients in decision-making, advocacy, and service delivery roles within the treatment environment is one means of providing the chronic mentally disabled with opportunities for participatory social roles, choice and control. However, client deficiencies of skill, experience, and motivation are suggested to be barriers to the successful accomplishment .of this purpose. Strategies are needed to overcome these barriers. Feedback has been shown to be an effective, low-cost tool for increasing accomplishment in work settings.

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of feedback in increasing the independent participation of a mental health consumer advisory group. This was investigated utilizing a multiple baseline design across the three behaviors required to fulfill the group's functions. A structured agenda, including all necessary tasks was also introduced for each of the three behaviors.

While inclusion of a task as an agenda item was found to be sufficient to assure a high level of participation, consistency of this high level was increased with feedback. As the study progressed, the percentage of consumer generated tasks on the agenda increased.

Results suggest that while this mental health consumer

group initially lacked the skills and knowledge to specify the tasks required to fulfill its functions when the tasks were specified, the group generally performed them with a high level of independent participation. This study also suggests that, with experience, skills and knowledge increased resulting in increased consumer group independence in specifying the tasks required to structure the agenda and fulfill its roles.

Pages

72

Recommended Citation

Anderson, Linda Adele. (1987). Feedback as a strategy for increasing the participation of consumers in the design, implementation, and evaluation of outpatient treatment programs for the chronic mentally disabled. University of the Pacific, Thesis. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/2133