Planning mental health services for older adults: A case study in the development and assessment of a pragmatic planning process in an agency setting.
Item
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Title
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Planning mental health services for older adults: A case study in the development and assessment of a pragmatic planning process in an agency setting.
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Identifier
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AAI9315513
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identifier
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9315513
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Creator
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Weiner, Audrey S.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Irwin Epstein
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Date
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1993
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Social Work | Gerontology
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Abstract
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This dissertation addresses, within the context of a large urban mental health and social service setting, the core question of if and how an agency, without a formal planning department, would and could plan for a new service division; i.e. mental health services for older adults. In addition, the specific outcome of this agency's planning including the proposed continuum of care for older adults is also discussed.;The planning process which required eight months to complete included a computerized literature review, key informant interviews, site visits, provider and consumer focus groups, review of public documents, regulatory review and review of local demography. The largest segment of the planner's time was spent completing key informant interviews and site visits (22.9%). However, almost two-thirds of the planning time was devoted to agency internal publics including activities such as: discussion of the "plan to plan;" data collection; participation in general administrative functions and; committees of the Agency. The goals of such interactions included the internal marketing necessary to establish the legitimacy of the population to be served (i.e. the aged), the planner as a competent member of the management team and planning as a legitimate function.;Completion of this needs assessment and planning process were operationalized as opportunities to "reflect-in-action" (Schon, 1983). In this context, means and ends are not kept separate, but rather, defined interactively as the researcher frames a situation. Planning as conceptualized in this case study begins with a series of techniques viewed as situation-appropriate with an understanding that there is an emphasis on the interactive process, a recognition that one's work involves managing multiple relationships with people who do not necessarily share his/her objectives and the premise that this approach is applicable in practice.;In analyzing the actual planning process Etzioni's (1967) mixed scanning approach combined with Ham and Hill's (1983) notion of twinning proved to be the planning model closest to that used. Parallels are also drawn between this planning model and Rein and Schon's (1977), Wildavsky's (1979) and Gergen's perspectives of policy analysis underscoring the notions of incrementalism, and the importance of the social process within the technomethodologic process.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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D.S.W.
