The role of client satisfaction in evaluating university counseling services

Though ubiquitously used for evaluating university counseling services, client satisfaction assessment has been hampered by inadequate instrumentation. Systematic use of a short form of the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ) in one such center over the past 5 years is described, together with strategies to ensure maximal accuracy and utilization of results. Several method factors were investigated. Optional respondent identification was not found to reduce response rate or increase reported satisfaction compared to anonymity, while a substudy obtaining very high response suggested bias from nonresponse to the routine survey (response rate = 40%) was not great. The CSQ was found to have excellent psychometric properties and many advantages for use in student service settings. Relationships between satisfaction and a number of other variables such as demographics, precounseling expectancies, problem type and severity, counselor differences, and duration of counseling are reported. Ways such findings were incorporated in service planning are briefly discussed.     

The learning camera: A personalized learning model for online pedagogy in human services education

Abstract

This article describes the development of a personalized learning approach to human services online education that utilizes a “learning camera” as a metaphorical tool for undergraduate students’ development of knowledge, skills, and dispositions required for successful transition to professional practice. By highlighting students’ ongoing development as knowledge builders and constructivist learners, the online curriculum is enacted within each student’s area of interest and in their home communities. This “learning camera” model of online pedagogy for human services education is intended to serve as a resource for other institutions interested in praxis-oriented approaches to personalized online teaching and learning.     

Consumer retail satisfaction in rural areas: A reanalysis of survey data

Due to the decline of the number of small neighborhood stores, especially in rural areas, it is hypothesized that the quality of retail supply in these areas is attenuated. A causal modelling approach is applied to secondary data measuring retail supply in rural and urban areas. An explicit test of validity proposes a four-dimensional measurement model of retail satisfaction. Competing hypotheses are tested in a complex causal model to reveal the causes of retail satisfaction, measured by four dimensions. The analysis identifies accessibility and diversity of retailers as important dimensions of retail satisfaction, which are affected by situational variables of the household. The location of the household is shown to be a strong factor for (dis)satisfaction.     

Client satisfaction with home care services in rural Russia

The objective of this work is to explore the satisfaction of a sample of 300 frail elders living in a rural Russian area with the support services provided by social service agency staff. The client population lives in extremely difficult conditions in terms of housing and associated communal services. They reported very high levels of satisfaction with the agency-provided services, both general satisfaction and their satisfaction with the specific services received during the reference visit inquired about by the interviewer. The degree of satisfaction is likely related to the difficulty of their living environment and their probable poverty, as well as the quality of services received. Attempts to relate the variance in the satisfaction ratings to the extent of activity limitations and the volume of formal and informal care using multivariate analysis met with limited success, owing in part, at least, to the limited variance in the dependent variables. Nevertheless, the patterns identified are broadly consistent with expectations based on modeling previously done for the U.S. populations receiving at-home care. The results clearly indicate the value of providing such services to frail elders in such circumstances.     

A positive youth development measure of service use satisfaction for youth: The 13-item youth services satisfaction (YSS-13)

Using data from 593 at-risk adolescents (12–17 years) this article reports on an examination of the psychometric properties of a reduced version of the Youth Services Survey (YSS), a youth self-report measure of service quality. The paper reports on the content validity, internal validity, reproducibility, floor and ceiling effects and responsiveness of the measure. The analysis supports the use of a 13-item version of the YSS as a valid and reliable measure of service quality. The YSS-13 is broadly consistent with “The Big Three” principles of PYD. Therefore the measure can be used to assist service providers in assessing the extent to which their service delivery aligns with these principles and to identify areas where service delivery can be strengthened.     

A culturally relevant measure of client satisfaction in child welfare services

Child welfare professionals increasingly recognize the importance of the client's perspective in evaluating service outcomes, but there is a dearth of well-developed instruments that meet the needs of service providers and planners. This article describes the implementation of a measure of primary caregivers' satisfaction with mandated child welfare services. This measure is significant for its flexibility regarding the nature of the child welfare population to be surveyed and for its attention to cultural aspects of the clients' experience. The instrument is an adaptation of Harris, Poertner, and Joe's (2000) client satisfaction measure and includes selected items from related instruments in the field. The measure was developed with the help of an Aboriginal child welfare agency and piloted with that agency's clients. The adapted instrument also includes items requested by the pilot testing agency to reflect high quality child welfare practice including specific attention to the clients' racial, ethnic, and cultural identity. This project furthers Harris et al.'s (2000) prior work by using the instrument in another country (Canada) and with diverse populations, thereby adding to the body of evidence supporting the development of this measure. Future research with larger samples could further enhance the validation of the measure and its usefulness to policy makers and practitioners.     

Social work in mental health services: A survey of the field

Abstract

A survey of social workers employed in mental health services was conducted in Victoria in mid-1997. Approximately 300 social workers were identified as working in the sector. About half were employed in adult clinical services, 23% in psychiatric disability services, 12.4% in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, and the rest in a range of other services. More than 90% worked in a community based service or team. The number of entry-level (SW I) positions in clinical services was found to have declined over the last ten years from 61 to 14, resulting in a lack of opportunities for social workers to gain experience in base grade positions, and difficulty in recruiting to SW II positions. Major issues of concern reported by social workers included: the lack of accommodation and other community resources for consumers; diminished opportunities for professional development, supervision, and discipline-specific training; lack of professional recognition; increasing workloads; and organisational emphasis on throughput rather than quality.     

Patient satisfaction with mental health services: a meta-analysis to establish norms

Patients typically express high rates of satisfaction with their mental health care. This finding and the lack of well controlled studies on patient satisfaction in the literature underscore the need for meaningful guidelines for clinicians and program evaluators in interpreting patient satisfaction data. To address this problem a meta-analysis was undertaken to establish norms on patient satisfaction for various types of mental health programs. Programs were categorized according to three dimensions: inpatient vs. outpatient vs. residential care; chronic vs. non-chronic; and conventional vs. innovative. Meta-analysis procedures were modified to accommodate the single-group study designs that dominate the literature. The analysis revealed that chronic patients express less satisfaction with their treatment compared to non-chronic patients. Innovative programs are viewed more positively than conventional ones. No differences were found in rates of patient satisfaction between inpatient and outpatient programs. Acceptably reliable norms and confidence intervals of patient satisfaction were established for conventional inpatient programs serving either chronic or non-chronic patients; conventional outpatient programs for non-chronic patients; and for all programs combined according to chronic vs. non-chronic, inpatient vs. outpatient, and conventional vs. innovative. However, data were insufficient to compute norms for other program types. The norms thus established can be used for comparative purposes by program evaluators. A cumulative, national data base on patient satisfaction is recommended to further refine these norms.     

Mainstreaming urban ecosystem services: A national survey of municipal foresters

Researchers and advocates are calling for ecosystem services management to advance from theory to implementation. To do so, they argue, requires two things: information on the science and practice ecosystem services management to be more widely developed and distributed, and support for ecosystem services management be incorporated into decision-making. These changes require adding to urban ecology an understanding of the political and information relationships supporting work in this field. To gain insight into these relationships I surveyed the national membership of the Society for Municipal Arborists about their efforts in managing municipal green space to produce ecosystem services. A significant percentage of respondents reported their organizations currently engaged in managing green space assets to produce ecosystem services and predicted such activities would increase over time. Foresters noted they relied on public and informal peer relationships as primary information sources in these efforts and reported little interface with private sector entities, viewing the latter, rather as most likely to constrain their efforts to enhance the production of ecosystem services. While foresters noted that they sought information from public and academic sources, the foresters themselves were less frequently sought out for their expertise. Respondents, however, foresaw becoming engaged in more reciprocal relationships around information exchange. The private sector’s absence in these relationships suggests insufficient legal and regulatory structures necessary to support private engagement in the growing demand for urban ecosystem services. The broad base of local grassroots and public support, however, suggest the emergence of constituencies that could lay the basis for new coalitions to advance green infrastructure and its related ecosystem services into the mainstream of municipal resource management.     

Transnational migration and the commodification of eldercare in urban Ghana

ABSTRACT

Over the past 20 years, organizations to provide commercial nursing services, mainly to the sick and debilitated elderly, have sprung up in Accra, Ghana. This article assesses the degree to which transnational migration has generated social changes in ageing at the level of everyday practices. It argues that a range of social actors differently involved in transnational migration has created and sustained a market for home nursing agencies in Ghana through diverse processes involving the imagination of care work abroad, complex negotiations between the elderly at home and their anxious children abroad, increased financial resources among the middle class and the evaluations of western eldercare services by return and current migrants. These dynamics illustrate the complexity of the role of transnational migration in generating social change and highlight the significance of the needs of local families and the role of the imagination in shaping social remittances from abroad.     

Navigating return: the gendered geographies of skilled return migration to Ghana

In this article, I extend the literature on return migration by exploring the gendered mechanisms of return for highly skilled Ghanaian migrants. Drawing on interviews with Ghanaian women and men who returned in their prime productive years, I examine their decision‐making, the strategies they implement and the challenges they negotiate in the process. While the decision to return was straightforward, the actual processes circumscribing it contained tensions and compromises that involved renegotiations of gender identities, roles and norms, which themselves intersected with class differences. The empirical analyses emphasize how skilled migrants capitalize on their class status, social networks and transnational activities as means not only to return but also, for some, to mitigate the impacts of separation for themselves and their families as they seek to accomplish specific goals.     

A study of the consumption of Chinese online fortune telling services

This study examines consumer behavior in the online fortune telling market. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analyzed through a content analysis of websites, in-depth interviews with website owners, and online consumer surveys. Focus group discussions were conducted to uncover a general profile of and the motives for users who visited fortune telling websites in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China. In addition, a survey of 6,088 members of major fortune telling websites was conducted in order to identify a dynamic psychological model to explain online fortune telling behavior and attitudes. Three types of explanatory variables were used as predictors – demographics, psychological orientations, and motivations. Results from the analyses indicate that the majority of users were attracted to the fortune telling websites by free trial services. Personal relationship fortunes were the most popular service item consumed by both male and female users. Some consistent patterns regarding the effects of the predictor variables on online fortune telling behavior and attitudes were reported and discussed. The three types of predictors in question all contributed to different online fortune telling behavior and attitudes. Results and implications are reported and discussed.     

The crisis of international migration in an integrating West Africa: a case study of Nigeria and Ghana

The mass expulsions of illegal immigrants that have taken place in recent years in Western Africa are examined, with particular reference to those in Ghana in 1969 and Nigeria in 1983. The author considers "the context within which they have taken place, including some of the longterm causes, and the systematic nature of the migrations which preceded them; the ways in which these have been handled by the states concerned; and their implications for the rights and status of migrants as a particular form of exploited labour within the development process in the subregion." (SUMMARY IN FRE)     

A study of utilization and satisfaction: implications for cultural concepts and design in aging services

This article describes the utilization and satisfaction patterns of Native Hawaiian elders with the Ke Ola Pono No Na Kupuna ("Good Health and Living for the Elderly") project funded under Title VI-B of the Older Americans Act. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire. Its unique, one of a kind, culturally specific program, which includes traditional Native Hawaiian meals, has a number of implications for policy considerations in designing aging programs that can serve ethnic minority aged more effectively. Changes in current federal policy that would enable federally mandated aspects of programs to provide for greater flexibility in providing culturally relevant programs and services for ethnic minorities would help to surmount some of the current problems and barriers to service delivery and utilization by ethnic minority groups. Allowing for greater involvement of ethnic minorities in program design will help to assure culturally relevant and appropriate activities and services and may increase the likelihood of success due to a sense of personal ownership and self-responsibility on the part of those involved.     

The impact of daily weather conditions on life satisfaction: Evidence from cross-sectional and panel data

Life satisfaction has been widely used in recent years for evaluating the effect of environmental factors on individuals’ well-being. In this study, using two major health surveys in Canada, we show that after controlling for individuals’ socioeconomic characteristics as well as local and seasonal climate, temporal weather variations have an impact on satisfaction with life. This effect is identified in a number of alternative specifications. Women and individuals with poor health condition are more affected by weather conditions. Although being statistically significant, the effect of weather on life satisfaction is small compared with major socioeconomic determinants of well-being. We cannot confirm the results of past studies which find an effect of long term climate variables on life satisfaction.     

Modelling the role of anticipated emotions in blood donor behaviour: A cross-sectional study

For blood transfusion centres, studying anticipated emotions (AEs) related to blood donation is essential, since these variables influence donation decision. For this reason, this work addresses the need to identify the antecedents and consequences of AEs, which will help explain their origin and their role in donation behaviour. Our purpose is to make further progress with the application of the AE framework in a non-profit context, by analysing how AEs are generated and how they influence decision-making. This study aims to design and validate an explanatory model of donation intention, where motivations and attitude towards donation are direct antecedents of AEs, while AEs, motivations and attitude towards donation act as direct antecedents of intention. Moreover, it has been also considered how the type of donor influences the proposed model as a moderating factor. The final sample is comprised of 35,982 active donors, inactive donors and non-donors. Data was obtained through an online questionnaire, with the collaboration of 14 of the 17 Spanish blood transfusion centres, as well as some universities. Results indicate that (1) AEs, motivations and attitude towards donation are direct antecedents of donation intention, (2) motivations and attitude towards donation are direct antecedents of AEs, and (3) donation experience moderates the relationships between motivations, attitude towards donation, AEs, and donation intention. These results indicate several operational implications that will enable blood transfusion centres to better design and target donation promotion campaigns according to type of donor. Furthermore, the results will let centres assess whether placing value on donation motivation and attitude towards donation can bolster positive AEs, diminish negative AEs and have a direct effect on donation intention.     

Purpose and life satisfaction during adolescence: the role of meaning in life,social support,and problematic digital use

This study examined the characteristics of youth with different types of purpose in life, as well as the associations between adolescents’ life satisfaction, purpose in life, meaning in life, social support, and problematic digital use. The sample included 193 participants aged 14–18 who completed self-report questionnaires on life satisfaction, purpose in life, meaning in life, social support, and problematic digital use. The following purpose in life clusters were found: (1) other-oriented goals (n?=?33); (2) self-oriented goals (n?=?42); and (3) both other- and self-oriented goals (n?=?107). Adolescents with both self- and other-oriented goals had significantly higher life satisfaction, meaning in life, and social support compared to the other groups. Meaning in life and greater support from parents and teachers were significantly associated with greater life satisfaction. In addition, having other-oriented goals was associated with lower life satisfaction. Finally, support from parents (p?=?0.05) mediated the association between problematic digital use and life satisfaction. Findings are discussed in light of previous research and the theoretical and practical implications are examined.     

The role of consumer satisfaction in ensuring quality long-term care: opportunities and challenges

Consumer-satisfaction information can play a valuable role as one component among a broader set of publicly- and privately led activities to improve the quality of long-term care (LTC). However, measuring and using consumer-satisfaction information in LTC is not without its challenges. We start by defining the ways in which we use the term "consumer satisfaction" in this article. We discuss current and planned uses of consumer-satisfaction information in assuring LTC quality. We end by describing some of the key opportunities for broader use of consumer-satisfaction information and accompanying challenges to be addressed to make more effective use of this information in the effort to improve LTC quality.