Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Assessing Consumer Program Needs: Advantages of a Brief Unstructured Format

  • Published:
Community Mental Health Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

To be empowered, consumers must provide feedback on services so that modifications can be made. The most frequently used method to attain such information is consumer satisfaction measures. However, often the measures are not useful because they have a strong positive response bias or because they do not contain items that reflect consumer needs. An alternative brief unstructured assessment was piloted with individuals served by four Community Treatment Teams in Delaware. The high number of needs expressed suggests that further work should be done in this area.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • Attkisson, C.C., & Greenfield, T. (1996). The consumer Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ) Scale and the Service Satisfaction Scale-30 (SSS-30). In L.T. Sedere, & B. Dicky (Eds.), Outcomes Assessment in Clinical Practice (pp. 120–129). Baltimore: Williams and Williams.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, J. (2000). Consumerism, outcomes and satisfaction (excerpt). In K.M Coughlin (Ed). Behavioral Outcomes and Guidelines Sourcebook (pp. 384–389). New York: Faulkner & Gray.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cogan, J.D. (1998). The consumer as expert: Women with serious mental illness and their relationship base needs. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 22, (27) 142–147.

    Google Scholar 

  • Corrigan, P.W. (1990). Consumer satisfaction with institutional and community care. Community Mental Health Journal, 26, 151–163.

    Google Scholar 

  • Drake, R.E. (1998). A brief history of the individual placement and support model. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 22, (1) 3–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Druss, B.G., Rosenheck, R.A., Stolar, M. (1999). Patient satisfaction and administrative measures as indicators of the quality of mental health care. Psychiatric Services, 50, (8) 1053–1058.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dworkin, P.W. (1992). Researching Persons with Mental Illness. Newbury Park: Sage Publication.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elbeck, M. (1992) Patient contribution to the design and meaning of patient satisfaction for quality assurance purposes: The psychiatric case. Health Care Management Review, 17, (1): 91–95.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gerber, G.J., & Prince, P. (1999). Measuring consumer satisfaction with assertive community treatment. Psychiatric Services, 50, (4) 546–550.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gill, K.J., Pratt, C.W., & Librere, L.A. (1998). The effect of consumer versus staff Administration on the measurement of consumer satisfaction with psychiatric rehabilitation. Psychiatric rehabilitation Journal, 21, (3) 365–370.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hohmann, A.A. (1999). A contextual model for clinical mental health effectiveness research. Mental Health Services Research, 1, (2) 83–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lebow, J.L. (1983). Consumer satisfaction with mental health treatment: Methodological considerations in assessment. Evaluation Review, 7, 729–752.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lebow, J.L. (1982). Consumer satisfaction with mental health treatment. Psychological Bulletin, 91, (2) 244–259.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGrew, J.H., Bond, G.R., Dietzen, L., & Salyers, M. (1994). Measuring the fidelity of implementation of a mental health program model . Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62, (4) 670–678.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGrew, J.H., Wilson, R.G., & Bond, G.R. (1995). Consumer perspectives on helpful ingredients of assertive community treatment. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 19, (3) 13–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pratt, C.W., & Gill, K.J. (1996). Measuring member satisfaction in the psychiatric milieu. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 19, (4) 29–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruggieri, M. (1997). Patients' and relatives satisfaction with psychiatric services: the state of the art and its measurement. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 29, 212–227.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, L.W. (2000). The Rise of Consumer Satisfaction Teams: Having Fellow Consumer Ask the questions can yield frank, more detailed responses. In K.M Coughlin (Ed). Behavioral Outcomes and Guidelines Sourcebook (pp. 384–389). New York: Faulkner & Gray.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strauss, A. & Corbin, J. (1990). Basic of Qualitative Research. Newbury Park. Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waxman, H. (1996). Using outcomes assessment for quality improvement. In L.T. Sedere, & B. Dicky (Eds), Outcomes Assessment in Clinical Practice(pp. 120–129). Baltimore: Williams and Williams.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Matrix Research Institute, USA

    Laura Blankertz

  2. USA

    Denis Hazem

Authors
  1. Laura Blankertz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Denis Hazem
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Blankertz, L., Hazem, D. Assessing Consumer Program Needs: Advantages of a Brief Unstructured Format. Community Ment Health J 38, 277–286 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015951524232

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015951524232

Search

Navigation