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Can active support improve job satisfaction?
- Authors:
- Rhodes Jennifer A., TOOGOOD Sandy
- Journal article citation:
- Tizard Learning Disability Review, 21(2), 2016, pp.54-60.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: Active support (AS) influences the way staff support people with intellectual disabilities to take part in everyday activities. Changes in work practices may affect job satisfaction. The impact of AS on job satisfaction has not, however, been widely studied. Job satisfaction is linked with levels of staff turnover and the overall quality of services provided to people with intellectual disabilities (Coomber & Barriball, 2007; Hatton et al., 2001). The purpose of this paper is to describe an evaluation of job satisfaction amongst 38 direct care staff working in intellectual disability services before and after AS was implemented. Design/methodology/approach: A single group, repeated-measures design was used. In total, 38 members of direct care staff received AS training. Data on job satisfaction were collected before, and after, AS was implemented. In total, 19 members of staff took part in a follow-up 12 weeks later. Findings: There was a significant increase in reported job satisfaction following the implementation of AS. Subscale analysis revealed that the most significant increases in job satisfaction were related to areas directly targeted by AS, including satisfaction with skill level and satisfaction with amount of time spent with service users. Originality/value: Implementing AS may provide an added benefit for direct care staff, who feel more satisfied at work. While a significant number of papers have been published focusing on the benefits of AS, no papers have specifically looked at the impact that the intervention can have on job satisfaction. (Publisher abstract)
Establishing a context to reduce challenging behaviour using procedures from active support: a clinical case example
- Authors:
- TOOGOOD Sandy, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Tizard Learning Disability Review, 14(4), October 2009, pp.29-36.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Client engagement increases substantially when staff teams implement active support. The impact of active support on challenging behaviour is less clear. This paper suggest that there are grounds for believing that active support procedures could in some cases neutralise environmental conditions known to evoke challenging behaviour. This paper uses Gemma as a case study for the techniques presented. A three-phase clinical intervention was implemented to increase engagement and reduce passive and challenging behaviour. In phase 1, staff were trained to deliver inviting activity-based instruction at eye level. In phase 2, activity support plans were introduced to increase client choice and control. In phase 3 staff used peer-monitoring procedures to consolidate the implementation. Staff behaviour and client outcomes were measured across the three phases of intervention and at follow-up. Results showed that staff provided warm and inviting activity-based instruction at eye level more frequently after participating in phase 1 on-site training. The proportion of activity-based interactions with choice increased when activity plans were introduced in phase 2, and engagement replaced challenging behaviour. Staff observations suggested changes were maintained over the short run, but observations indicated decay at 22 months. In conclusion, the data suggested that active support procedures can make challenging behaviour less likely by altering antecedent conditions that reliably evoke such behaviour, but without sustained effort, interventions are susceptible to decay.