Children as Service Evaluators

Abstract

In recent years there has been a growing interest in methods of eliciting children's views on factors influencing their lives. When children's views are sought it is important that this is done in a developmentally appropriate manner with instruments whose psychometric properties are known. The present review describes a variety of methods that have been used to evaluate children's satisfaction with services in education, paediatrics and mental health. The majority of the studies used self‐completion questionnaires and provided only limited information on reliability. Means of establishing reliability and validity in research with children are discussed, as are the variables that have been found to correlate with child satisfaction.

The Pyramid Club Elementary School-Based Intervention: Testing the Circle Time Technique to Elicit Children’s Service Satisfaction

“…All the suggestions made by Pyramid attendees indicate the importance of ensuring that service user satisfaction evaluations incorporate measures and methods that are salient to the children in their role by identifying what their needs and expectations are and acting upon them (Day et al, 2006;Hennessy, 1999). Furthermore, in support of prior research (Ohl et al, 2012, Ohl et al, 2008 this study suggests that Pyramid offers socio-emotionally vulnerable children an opportunity to practice social skills and gain confidence facilitated by supportive and approachable adults in a familiar school-based setting.…”

“…Hennessy's (1999) review of methods to establish children's satisfaction with child and adolescent health services in the United Kingdom (UK) reported that very few measures relate directly to the children themselves with most items being generated by parents or clinicians. This may be due to the perception that there exists a critical age at which children can independently express their viewpoint reliably.…”

Children's Key Concerns: Piloting a Qualitative Approach to Understanding Their Experience of Mental Health Care

“…Many instruments are now available (e.g. see, Attride-Stirling, 2003;Hennessy, 1999). Notwithstanding the well-recognized methodological flaws of service satisfaction evaluation, such as sampling bias, low response rates and CLINICAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY 11(1) 140 C R I S P I N DAY has responsibility for the strategic and clinical development of community child mental health services in Southwark, London.…”

The key role of social workers in promoting the well‐being of children in state care — a neglected dimension in reforming policies

“…This has undoubtedly contributed to and been fuelled by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Lü cker-Babel, 1995). In many spheres the significance of the child's voice finds greater recognition: in service evaluation (Hennessy, 1999); in planning and decision making (Sinclair, 1998); in researching children's experience (Hogan and Gilligan, 1998). While much has changed, clearly there is more work to be done in terms of adjusting professional practices in, for example, the conduct of care reviews to better reflect the understanding, concerns and preferences of young people (Grimshaw and Sinclair, 1997).…”