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Consumer Involvement (consumer + involvement)
Selected AbstractsInvolving consumers successfully in NHS research: a national surveyHEALTH EXPECTATIONS, Issue 4 2007Rosemary Barber BA MSc MAppSci Abstract Objectives, To investigate how far and in what way consumers are involved in NHS research. Background, There is guidance from the UK Department of Health on involving consumers in research, but it is not known how these policies have been implemented. Design, A national postal survey was conducted of 884 researchers selected randomly from the National Research Register, 16 researchers registered on the INVOLVE database and 15 consumers nominated by researchers who collaborated in the same research projects. Setting, The survey participants were drawn from diverse settings including NHS organizations and universities. Participants, Researchers and consumers collaborating in the same projects. Main outcome measures, Details of how consumers were involved and the number of projects that met previously developed consensus-derived indicators of successful consumer involvement in NHS research. Results, Of the 900 researchers who were sent a postal questionnaire, 518 responded, giving a response rate of 58%. Nine of the 15 consumers responded. Eighty-eight (17%) researchers reported involving consumers, mainly as members of a project steering group, designing research instruments and/or planning or designing the research methods. Most projects met between one and four indicators. Conclusions, This national survey revealed that only a small proportion of NHS researchers were actively involving consumers. This study provides a useful marker of how far the Department of Health's policy on consumer involvement in NHS research has been implemented and in what way. [source] Assessment of the benefits of user involvement in health research from the Warwick Diabetes Care Research User Group: a qualitative case studyHEALTH EXPECTATIONS, Issue 3 2007Antje Lindenmeyer PhD Abstract Objective, To assess the benefits of involving health-care users in diabetes research. Design and participants, For this qualitative case study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with researchers who had worked extensively with the group. During regular meetings of the Research User Group, members discussed their views of the group's effectiveness as part of the meeting's agenda. Interviews and discussions were transcribed, coded using N-Vivo software and analysed using constant comparative methods. Results, Involvement of users in research was generally seen as contributing to effective and meaningful research. However, the group should not be considered to be representative of the patient population or participants of future trials. An important contributor to the group's success was its longstanding nature, enabling users to gain more insight into research and form constructive working relationships with researchers. The user-led nature of the group asserted itself, especially, in the language used during group meetings. A partial shift of power from researchers to users was generally acknowledged. Users' main contribution was their practical expertise in living with diabetes, but their involvement also helped researchers to remain connected to the ,real world' in which research would be applied. While the group's work fulfilled established principles of consumer involvement in research, important contributions relying on personal interaction between users and researchers were hard to evaluate by process measures alone. Conclusions, We demonstrated the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of this longstanding, experienced, lay-led research advisory group. Its impact on research stems from the continuing interaction between researchers and users, and the general ethos of learning from each other in an on-going process. Both process measures and qualitative interviews with stakeholders are needed to evaluate the contributions of service users to health research. [source] Citizen and consumer involvement in UK public servicesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 5 2010Catherine M. Farrell Abstract This paper is concerned with the involvement and participation of citizens and consumers in UK public services. It reflects on levels of involvement over a 30-year period and maps this accordingly. Using models of participation, the paper reviews the citizen and consumer concepts. Conclusions are drawn about involvement and participation in practice and how this will develop in the future. [source] Empowerment and peer support: structure and process of self-help in a consumer-run center for individuals with mental illness,JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 6 2009Russell K. Schutt Personal empowerment is a guiding philosophy of many mental health service programs, but there has been little empirical research on the empowerment process in these programs. The authors examine social processes and consumer orientations within a self-help drop-in center for individuals with psychiatric disabilities, using intensive interviews and focus groups. They investigate motives for consumer involvement, bases for program retention, and processes of participant change. Motives for involvement in the center were primarily instrumental, whereas the bases of retention were more often maintaining social support and developing self-esteem. Participants valued the center's nonstigmatizing environment and its supportive consumer staff. Some used the opportunity to become a staff member to move into a more normalized social role; all seemed to derive benefits from helping peers. There were indications of some staff members adopting a more authoritarian posture, but participants repeatedly lauded most staff for their supportive orientation. The authors conclude that the "helper/therapy" process was a key to successful empowerment. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Consumer participation in mental health services: looking from a consumer perspectiveJOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRIC & MENTAL HEALTH NURSING, Issue 4 2003J. LAMMERS rn bed mba phd Widespread changes to the structure and delivery of mental health services have effected considerable change in the role of the service user or consumer. The view of consumers of mental health services as passive recipients of care and treatment is gradually undergoing a significant shift, in light of an increasing expectation that consumers be provided with opportunities to become actively involved in all aspects of their care. Consumer participation is now broadly reflected in government policy; however, to date there has been little exploration of the extent to which the policy is being realized in practice. To provide a greater understanding of these experiences and opinions, in-depth interviews were conducted with consumers of mental health services (n = 15). The interview transcripts were analysed through the identification and explication of major themes. The findings reinforce the need to view consumers as heterogenous and respond to individual needs and interests regarding consumer participation. Despite variations in experience there is a clear need to develop mechanisms to support consumer involvement and to influence the attitudes of health professions to become more valuing of a consumer perspective. Nurses are in an ideal position to lead this process. [source] Mental health clinicians' attitudes about consumer and consumer consultant participation in Australia: A cross-sectional survey designNURSING & HEALTH SCIENCES, Issue 2 2008Terence V. McCann rn Abstract The purpose of this study was to assess mental health clinicians' attitudes about mental health consumer participation in inpatient psychiatric units. A cross-sectional survey design was used with a non-probability sample of 47 clinicians in the psychiatric units of a large Australian hospital. The results showed that gender, length of time as a clinician, and how long the staff worked in the units influenced their attitudes about consumer involvement. Females were more likely than males to support consumer participation in management and consumer consultants. Less experienced staff showed greater support than more experienced staff for mental health consumer involvement in treatment-related matters and consumer consultants in units. New staff members were more likely to register agreement-to-uncertainty regarding consumer involvement in treatment-related issues, whereas established staff members were more likely to record uncertainty about this issue. The findings showed that although reports and policies promoted participation, some clinicians were reluctant to accept consumer and consultant involvement. [source] Measuring childhood materialism: Refining and validating Schor's Consumer Involvement ScalePSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING, Issue 7 2010Paul A. Bottomley This paper examines the measurement of childhood materialism using Schor's (2004) Consumer Involvement Scale. Schor treated consumer involvement empirically as a unidimensional construct, though she suggested that conceptually it may be multidimensional. Using confirmatory factor analysis procedures on data collected from children in the U.S. and U.K., the psychometric superiority of a three-factor structure is established, comprising dissatisfaction, consumer orientation, and brand awareness components. Additional analyses demonstrate distinct associations between each of these components and other constructs, including self-esteem, outside school activities, and child,parent relations. The scale's generalizability across boys and girls is also confirmed. The results suggest that Schor's Consumer Involvement Scale will be useful for researchers interested in studying the important topic of materialism in children. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Mutual, non-profit or public interest company?ANNALS OF PUBLIC AND COOPERATIVE ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2002An evaluation of options for the ownership, control of water utilities The purpose of this paper is to evaluate various organizational models for the ownership and control of natural monopolies , specifically the infrastructure of water and sewage provision in England and Wales. First, it summarizes recent discussion of who should own water assets in Britain. The paper notes the opportunity that has arisen for increased consumer involvement, and examines the relative merits of three models that have been suggested as alternatives: a non-profit trust or company, a public interest company, and a consumer mutual. Five criteria are suggested for evaluating the merits of each type: its ability to safeguard the interests of the most important stakeholder, the consumer; avoid the necessity for a heavy regulatory regime; incentivize management to manage efficiently but without ,producer capture'; raise capital relatively cheaply; and resist pressures to demutualize. The paper agrees with the recent paper in this Journal by Morse (2000) that, in theory, the consumer mutual has advantages. It draws on Hansmann's work that suggests consumer ownership of water would be less costly than investor-ownership, providing there are no large conflicts of interest between different types of consumer. Hansmann's thesis is expanded to consider the likely benefits from wider member participation, and the hidden costs of not taking members into account. It then tests out whether customers would be motivated in practice to be active members, introducing a theoretical model of what motivates members of co-operatives and mutuals to participate. The conclusions are that provided managers and board members are committed to encouraging member participation, the consumer mutual model would work well. It would need only light regulation, would avoid producer capture, and would be able to raise capital fairly easily, both from money markets and from members. It would need legislation to prevent it from being demutualized at some time in the future. However, if a participatory corporate culture cannot be guaranteed, or if there is a risk of decline of participation over time, other options such as a non-profit trust or a public interest company would be less risky. [source] Co-Production and Health System Reform , From Re-Imagining To Re-MakingAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 1 2009Roger Dunston There is growing interest in the application of citizen participation within all areas of public sector service development, where it is increasingly promoted as a significant strand of post-neoliberal policy concerned with re-imagining citizenship and more participatory forms of citizen/consumer engagement. The application of such a perspective within health services, via co-production, has both beneficial, but also problematic implications for the organisation of such services, for professional practice and education. Given the disappointing results in increasing consumer involvement in health services via ,choice' and ,voice' participation strategies, the question of how the more challenging approach of co-production will fare needs to be addressed. The article discusses the possibilities and challenges of system-wide co-production for health. It identifies the discourse and practice contours of co-production, differentiating co-production from other health consumer-led approaches. Finally, it identifies issues critically related to the successful implementation of co-production where additional theorisation and research are required. [source] Understanding gay consumers' clothing involvement and fashion consciousnessINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 5 2007Ou Sha Abstract This study's primary objective was to provide a better understanding of gay consumers' clothing involvement and fashion consciousness. Personal in-depth interviews were conducted with 13 gay professionals in Canada. One hundred and forty-five usable survey questionnaires were also collected from gay consumers. The Fashion Involvement Index Scale (FII scale) was adapted for this study. Interview participants indicated that, in general, gay men tend to be more fashion conscious than heterosexual men. Survey results also indicated two dimensions, fashion interest and fashion awareness that were found to be stronger for this group of gay consumers than for heterosexual men. The FII value for the survey participants also resulted in a sum score mean value of 11.2, a medium level of fashion involvement that is a slightly higher level than has been found for heterosexual consumers. Interestingly, this study does not provide strong evidence of gay consumers' involvement in cutting-edge fashion trends. [source] Consumer reaction to product recalls: factors influencing product judgement and behavioural intentionsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 1 2007Celso Augusto De Matos Abstract In order to evaluate the factors influencing consumers' responses to product recalls, two surveys were conducted among Brazilian automobile owners and two regression models tested. Results indicated that (i) product judgement was significantly affected by corporate social responsibility (CSR), blame attributed to the company and whether or not consumers had a car made by the brand considered; and (ii) behavioural intentions were significantly affected by CSR, consumers' involvement with the message, perceived danger, product judgement and whether or not consumers had a car made by the brand considered. Findings revealed, however, that CSR is a better predictor of the product judgement than of the behavioural intentions, in accordance with recent studies indicating that CSR affects consumer judgements and behaviour differently. Finally, these two models are discussed and compared with previous research. [source] | |||||||||||||