Consumer Involvement In Decisions Research Articles

Rhetoric of representation: the disempowerment and empowerment of consumer leaders.

Policy mandates consumer involvement in decisions at all levels of the mental health system. One barrier to this involvement is the expectation that consumers involved in systemic work represent broader consumer experiences. To examine how the rhetoric of 'representation' was used in relation to consumer involvement in mental health, a qualitative exploratory design was employed using interviews for data collection. Participants were consumers (n = 6) working with public or private mental health organizations in Australia, and colleagues (n = 3) or managers (n = 5) of these consumers. Discursive psychological principles informed the analytic process, to explore contexts in which 'representativeness' was used to empower and disempower consumers. The findings suggest there is a lack of clarity about what is meant by representation in the mental health sector. Expecting individual consumer leaders to be representative of consumer views more broadly disempowered them in their roles. Some participants instead discussed ways that organizations should be responsible for seeking representation from more consumer leaders, thus empowering consumers working in the sector. Using the term 'representative' to refer to consumers working in mental health does not reflect the value of the consumer perspective and is not well understood within the sector. Comprehensive training should be provided so that mental health service providers are clear regarding the expectations of people in these roles.

ESTUDO SOBRE O COMPORTAMENTO DO CONSUMIDOR FRENTE À QUESTÃO AMBIENTAL

This article identifies factors that influence consumers in their purchase decision-making process, highlighting their actions with environmental issues. It was organized using a theoretical framework for consumer behavior and understanding how this occurs in relation to environmental issues. This framework incorporated theoretical aspects that describe the consumer involvement in decision making and their attitudes towards environmental responsibility. Based on the review and evaluation of three experts, a questionnaire with 35 probes and a Likert scale of five levels was developed. The questionnaire was administered to 451 university students from Sao Paulo (North, South, East and West) and. Using LISREL, we performed the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), based on the dimensions that emerged from the literature. The result of CFA has confirmed the constructs: Environmental Awareness (CONAMB) Environmental Irresponsibility (IRRESAMB), passivity (passive), and Environmental Responsibility (RESAMB). Revealing high correlation between the constructs CONAMB and PASSIV and RESAMB and PASSIV. The construct IRRESAMB was not correlated with other relevant constructs.

ESTUDO SOBRE O COMPORTAMENTO DO CONSUMIDOR FRENTE À QUESTÃO AMBIENTAL

Este artigo buscou identificar os fatores que influenciam os consumidores em seu processo decisório de compra, destacando suas ações diante de questões ambientais. Para atender a esse objetivo, procurou-se organizar o referencial teórico sobre o comportamento do consumidor e entender como este se dá em relação às questões ambientais. Esse referencial incorporou aspectos teóricos que descrevem o envolvimento do consumidor no processo decisório e suas atitudes frente à responsabilidade ambiental . Com base na revisão e na avaliação de três especialistas, foi desenvolvido o instrumento de pesquisa, questionário com 35 questões assertivas e uma escala tipo Likert de cinco níveis. O questionário foi aplicado a 451 alunos de universidades da cidade de São Paulo (zonas Norte, Sul, Leste e Oeste) e, usando-se o LISREL, foi efetuada a Analise Fatorial Confirmatória (AFC), baseada nas dimensões que emergiram da revisão bibliográfica. O resultado da AFC confirmou os construtos: Consciência Ambiental (CONAMB), Irresponsabilidade Ambiental (IRRESAMB), Passividade (PASSIV) e Responsabilidade Ambiental (RESAMB), revelando correlação alta entre os constructos CONAMB e PASSIV e RESAMB e PASSIV. O constructo IRRESAMB não apresentou correlação relevante com os demais constructos.

Consumer involvement in decisions about what health-related research is funded

Objectives: To consider whether, why and how research funders involve consumers in decisions about what health-related research is funded. Methods: Postal survey and semi-structured interviews with UK funders of health-related research. Results: Organisations that fund research have diverse goals and remits, and perceive themselves to be accountable in different ways and to different groups. They have a variety of reasons for involving consumers in decisions about what research is funded, but also a number of concerns about doing so-particularly about the ways in which consumer input might ‘distort’ the research agenda. Research funders use several types of decision-making structures and processes to identify and prioritise topics in which they want to invest and to select between research proposals. They involve consumers in these structures and processes in diverse ways. Little is known about the actual effects of this involvement, but the nature and extent of consumer influence on the research agenda is likely to be moderated by a number of factors, including the types of consumers involved, the particular structures and processes in which they are involved, the timing of their input and the different ways in which they are asked to contribute in relation to others. Conclusions: Diverse research funding organisations are now involving consumers in the various approaches that they take to identify and prioritise research topics and to decide which proposals they will fund. The future development of their activities could usefully be informed by careful consideration not just of consumer involvement but of the implications of the various structures and processes that shape research agendas. The appropriateness of particular forms of consumer involvement should be considered in the broader context of the features of the whole research funding system, including the values implicit within it.

Consumer involvement in decisions about what health-related research is funded

Objectives: To consider whether, why and how research funders involve consumers in decisions about what health-related research is funded. Methods: Postal survey and semi-structured interviews with UK funders of health-related research. Results: Organisations that fund research have diverse goals and remits, and perceive themselves to be accountable in different ways and to different groups. They have a variety of reasons for involving consumers in decisions about what research is funded, but also a number of concerns about doing so-particularly about the ways in which consumer input might ‘distort’ the research agenda. Research funders use several types of decision-making structures and processes to identify and prioritise topics in which they want to invest and to select between research proposals. They involve consumers in these structures and processes in diverse ways. Little is known about the actual effects of this involvement, but the nature and extent of consumer influence on the research agenda is likely to be moderated by a number of factors, including the types of consumers involved, the particular structures and processes in which they are involved, the timing of their input and the different ways in which they are asked to contribute in relation to others. Conclusions: Diverse research funding organisations are now involving consumers in the various approaches that they take to identify and prioritise research topics and to decide which proposals they will fund. The future development of their activities could usefully be informed by careful consideration not just of consumer involvement but of the implications of the various structures and processes that shape research agendas. The appropriateness of particular forms of consumer involvement should be considered in the broader context of the features of the whole research funding system, including the values implicit within it.

Community and consumer participation in health.

The benefits of consumer involvement in decisions about their health care have long been acknowledged. Consumers and community members have been involved in the public health system through advisory committees and as volunteers, and their participation is reflected in NSW Government policy including NSW health policy.

The Role of Consumers in Health Care Decision Making

This paper focuses on the results of a survey of chief executive officers and consumer board members of Ontario hospitals and community health centres regarding the role of consumers in health care decision making. The opinions of both the chief executive officer and consumer board member respondents were elicited regarding the value of consumer input in decision making for the organizations studied. Results indicate that consumer board members feel that their input into organizational decision making is valued, chief executive officers value the input of consumers, and consumer involvement in decision making is increasing. More women are now involved on boards of the organizations studied, but visible minority representation remains low on hospital boards. Consumer board members feel that their decision making is influenced by providers on the board.

Supporting consumer involvement in decision making: what constitutes quality in consumer health information?

The promotion of consumer involvement in decisions about individual health care is now high on many health policy agendas, but the structures to support it are not all in place. While it is generally accepted that information to support consumer involvement should be of good quality, the question of what constitutes quality in such information packages is far from settled. Debate around this issue should consider the various theoretical perspectives which relate to the nature and purpose of consumer involvement in health care decision making, and the contexts in which information is used. If we are to judge the quality of information within a consequentialist framework, we need empirical research evidence about the effects of information provision. Until such evidence becomes available, we can only hypothesize about what makes for quality. In this paper we discuss some dimensions of quality which are suggested by a consequentialist perspective.