Evaluating the Impact of Program Consultation in Health Services*
Elizabeth L. Watkins, D.Sc. Thomas P. Holland, Ph.D. Roger A. Ritvo, Ph.D.
This article describes
a
methodology developed to be useful to both
consultant and consultee in evaluating their mutual efforts
to
agency health service programs. Reporting forms and instruction manuals based upon the concept of mutuality in consultation were used by 19 consultants in 29 consultations. Twothirds of the respondents reported some increase in problem-solving ability. The implications of evaluating program consultation are
improve
discussed,
as are certain issues in consultation: definition, implementation, process, utilization, impact delays, interpersonal interactions, hidden agendas, organizational learning, and outcome
measurements.
The recent rise in public demand for accountability in human services has left almost no program unaffected. The policy questions being raised focus upon the consequences of investing resources in alternative efforts competing for attention. What difference does it make and for whom if we allocate funds to one option instead of another? Such critical concerns extend to the field of program consultation, where the identification and documentation of the actual impacts of consultation upon programs, services and clients is a major need. If it is possible to determine and assess the outcomes and benefits of the consultation process, organizations can more readily defend the use of *This research was supported by Maternal and Child Health Grant AICHT 000342.
Elizabeth L. Watkins, D.Sc. Thomas P. Holland, Ph.D. Roger A. Ritvo, Ph.D.
This article describes
a
methodology developed to be useful to both
consultant and consultee in evaluating their mutual efforts
to
agency health service programs. Reporting forms and instruction manuals based upon the concept of mutuality in consultation were used by 19 consultants in 29 consultations. Twothirds of the respondents reported some increase in problem-solving ability. The implications of evaluating program consultation are
improve
discussed,
as are certain issues in consultation: definition, implementation, process, utilization, impact delays, interpersonal interactions, hidden agendas, organizational learning, and outcome
measurements.
The recent rise in public demand for accountability in human services has left almost no program unaffected. The policy questions being raised focus upon the consequences of investing resources in alternative efforts competing for attention. What difference does it make and for whom if we allocate funds to one option instead of another? Such critical concerns extend to the field of program consultation, where the identification and documentation of the actual impacts of consultation upon programs, services and clients is a major need. If it is possible to determine and assess the outcomes and benefits of the consultation process, organizations can more readily defend the use of *This research was supported by Maternal and Child Health Grant AICHT 000342.
