You should have received an email ... What benefits did you expect from the program? c. ... After attending the support group, did you discover other reasons for ...
Session Title: Needs Assessment: A “Revolutionary” Approach to Planning & Evaluating Caregiver Support Vanessa Burshnic, MA, CF-SLP (Doctoral Candidate) Michelle Bourgeois, PhD, CCC-SLP Location: Westin/Lewis Date: Friday, Nov 16 10:30 AM Duration: 1 hour Format: Seminar 1-hour Code: 1374 PDH(s): 1 hour Abstract Needs Assessment are designed to uncover and document unmet needs within a particular group. Data obtained from Needs Assessments can be used as a tool to drive planning and development of programs, such as caregiver support groups. This presentation will provide an introduction to Needs Assessment and discuss an example of its application in an aphasia caregiver support group. Learner Outcome 1: Describe the role of Needs Assessments in support group planning and evaluation. Learner Outcome 2: Demonstrate knowledge of the steps to developing and conducting a needs assessment. Learner Outcome 3: Discuss a case example demonstrating how needs assessment can inform program development. Keywords: caregivers, program evaluation, interviews, aphasia, support groups
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Case Example: Needs Assessment of Aphasia Caregivers Objectives: 1. Describe the purpose of caregiver support groups from the caregiver’s perspective. 2. Assess the extent to which the support group has met member expectations. 3. Identify key success factors for effective support groups. 4. Identify perceived barriers and/or other factors that may limit participation in the support group. Interview Guide I. Introduction: Thank you for agreeing to participate in this interview. My name is ___. I am conducting this interview to better understand the overall experience and impact of attending the ___ caregiver support group. Please respond to all of the interview questions based on your experience and perspective as a participant in the support group. You should have received an email that contained an overview of the types of questions that I would like to ask you today. Did you receive that? Do you have any questions before we begin? II. 1. 2.
3. 4. 5.
III.
Questions Related to Objectives #1 and #2: From your perspective, what is the main purpose of the caregiver support group? Why did you join the caregiver support group? Prompt as necessary, a. What did you hope to achieve by joining? b. What benefits did you expect from the program? c. Were you looking for the solution to a specific problem or something broader? After attending the support group, did you discover other reasons for participating that you did not initially anticipate? In what way(s) has the support group met your expectations and/or needs? In what way(s) has the support group failed to meet your expectations and/or needs?
Questions Related to Objective #3: 6. How would you rate the overall effectiveness of this caregiver support group, using a scale from one to ten? (1 being complete failure and 10 being total success) a. Why? 7. In your opinion, how effective has this support group been in the following areas: a. Creating a safe environment for sharing.
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b. Providing information about public and community resources for you or your person with aphasia. c. Improving your factual knowledge of stroke, aphasia, and communication impairment. d. Supporting your adjustment to aphasia and the resulting role changes. e. Helping you improve or maintain the interpersonal relationship with your person with aphasia, family members or friends. f. Improving your ability to successfully communicate with your person with aphasia. IV.
Questions Related to Objective #4: 8. Did you experience any challenges or barriers (e.g., transportation or scheduling challenges) that have kept you from participating in the support group at the level that you would have liked to participate? Prompt, as necessary, a. Have you been able to participate in as many support groups as you wanted to participate in? If not, why? 9. Can you think of anything the program could do differently to address the challenges or barriers that might keep caregivers from participating fully?
V. Conclusion Those are all of the questions I have for you today. 10. Is there anything else you would like to add before we conclude the interview? Thank you very much for your time.
References Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (n.d.) Evaluation Interview Guide. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/phcommunities/docs/evaluation_interview_guide.doc Hilton, R., Leenhouts, S., Webster, J., & Morris, J. (2014). Information, support and training needs of relatives of people with aphasia: Evidence from the literature. Aphasiology, 28(7), 797–822. Le Dorze, G. & Signori, F. H. (2010). Needs, barriers and facilitators experienced by spouses of people with aphasia. Disability and Rehabilitation, 32(13), 1073–1087. https://doi.org/10.3109/09638280903374121
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