Dissertation Information for Valerie Ann Yonker NAME: - Valerie Ann Yonker
DEGREE:
- Ph.D.
DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science
SCHOOL:
- Drexel University (USA) (1989)
ADVISORS: - M. Carl Drott
COMMITTEE MEMBERS: - Elliot Cole - Gary Wayne Strong - Belver Griffith - George Spivack - Martha Montgomery
MPACT Status: Fully Complete
Title: A method for developing a framework of information salience in mental health care treatment delivery
Abstract: The purpose of this research was to develop a model of information requirements for clinical psychologists treating emotionally disturbed youth in residential treatment. The study sought to qualitatively analyze the "information system" and to develop a framework for organizing information by the decisions which occur during client treatment. The premise of this research was that salient information could be organized by stages of client treatment characterized by types of clinical decisions.
Two separate interviews were conducted with each psychologist. The questions were designed using the critical incident technique.
The results suggested three stages to the information model of client treatment: initial, process, and ending stages of treatment. The initial stage is a procedural time when the clinician acquires a base of knowledge about a client by using previous treatment records, family comments, and an up-to-date assessment of the client's problems. Information opportunity was stressed; the chance to make connections among many items of information.
The process stage corresponds to the major portion of treatment when the clinician obtains ongoing knowledge about a client, usually in response to events which trigger the need for a decision. Through communication, the therapist gathers details about the client's current behavior, relationships, and family events.
In a decision to end treatment, there is the tendency to use all of the accumulated knowledge about the client, particularly of the behavior type, in order to make the decision. These behaviors suggest that the client is no longer appropriate for residential treatment.
When the client's treatment has ended, there is still potential need for information, although the psychologist's role as a decision maker is over. Information is often obtained for the purpose of a "follow-up" of the client.
The information categories revealed in this project were named by the psychologists and were defined with concrete examples based on specific cases. This project was a crucial step toward understanding clinical information needs from a user's point of view.
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MPACT Scores for Valerie Ann Yonker A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:02:45
Advisors and Advisees Graph
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