Measuring client gains from staff-implemented programs

Abstract

Confidence in the adequacy with which staff implement training programs requires an analysis of the impact on the client. In two experiments, measures, were devised to reflect this impact. In the first, a measure of the consistency with which clients participated in a toilet-training program revealed their participation to be erratic. Consistent participation occurred after a public display of the consistency of participation was introduced. In Experiment II, detailed measures were devised to reflect the client's performance during the implementation of two physical-therapy programs: range-of-motion and ambulation. Additionally, standardized measures of the benefits that accrued from their participation in these programs were devised. Improvements in both measures were slight and unstable during a condition of immediate feedback (supervisor praise) to staff but substantial improvements were obtained with the addition of a public display of the client's performance.