Session 3:  Understanding the People Served

Purpose of Session 3:

To gain knowledge of the home base agency’s client base, service eligibility, sources of referral, and client perceptions.

Objectives for Session 3:

  • Describe the biological, psychological, cultural, environmental and social characteristics of clients served by the agency.
  • Identify client eligibility criteria for services provided by the agency.
  • Describe how people are referred to or find out about the home base agency.
  • Describe the primary needs of the population served by the home base agency.
  • Indicate whether patients/clients perceive that the agency is meeting their needs.
  • Identify barriers to serving the needs of the population.

Community Experience

February 15 to March 7, 2008

Community Experience Activities (Feb 15 to Mar 7):

Students will:

  • Interview agency employees to obtain information regarding client characteristics, eligibility criteria for services, barriers to access.
  • Interview agency clients.
  • Observe agency services being provided, if possible.
  • IN PREPARATION FOR SESSION #4: Ask community faculty to help identify partner agencies (other than home base agency)/specific agency staff that would be appropriate for students to visit.

Community faculty will:

  • Provide students information on client characteristics, eligibility criteria for services, barriers to access.
  • Provide sources to access additional information on client characteristics.
  • Provide clients for students to interview.
  • Provide students the opportunity to observe agency services, if possible.
  • IN PREPARATION FOR SESSION #4: Provide contact information to other agencies (specific contact person would be preferred) with which your agency collaborates.
  • IN PREPARATION FOR SESSION #4: Discuss whether or not the students will be meeting at the home base agency or whether they will be using this time to visit other agencies.

Rootstown Session – March 14, 2008

Rootstown Session Activities (Mar 14, 1-2:00pm):

Rootstown faculty will:

  • Provide feedback on Session 2 paper.
  • Discuss what was learned about the clients and services provided that differed from what was expected from the first visit.
  • Discuss client interviews (what was learned, what was surprising).
  • Comment on client perceptions about agency services.
  • Discuss expectations for upcoming paper.
  • (In preparation for Session #4) Discuss suggested partner agency interviews and details of logistics (including whether the students are visiting other agencies for the next community experience session).
  • Discuss plan for visiting potential partner agencies (including arrangements for interviews) during Session 4.
  • Review possible collaborations and community networks.
  • Discuss obtaining information for paper due at end of Session 4.

Student Assignment for Session 3:

(To be submitted electronically to Rootstown-based faculty and community preceptor on Mar 21 by noon)

  • Carry out plan for partner agency interviews by your next synthesis session on 5/7/07.
  • Paper with answers to the following questions.
  • Please use the following paper format guidelines: Written answers to the questions for each session below are to be submitted as a group paper by the deadline. The paper will contain each session’s answer in a cumulative document. The final paper will contain the answers to all three sessions. You are expected to use appropriate headings for sections and references. Papers should be 12 point font Arial with 1-inch margins, single spaced, and be 3-5 pages (as appropriate to cover all content areas). Papers should be submitted to your Rootstown-based faculty member electronically by the stated due date. Please summarize information in a table, if you are able. You must document your sources using the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) format (see http://jama.ama-assn.org/ifora_current.dtl for guidelines). This second paper should include answers to these questions in addition to the work that you did on the first paper (with your revisions suggested by your faculty).

1.    Client-base

a.    How many clients does the agency service?

b.    From what geographical area are the clients based?

c.    What are the social, occupational, economic, gender, age, cultural, educational backgrounds of the majority of clients served?

d.    What are the major health concerns of the clients served?

e.    What are the biological, psychological, cultural, environmental and/or social causes of the problems/needs of the agency’s patients/clients?

2.    Service-eligibility

a.    What (if any) are the financial eligibility criteria for services?

b.    What (if any) other criteria (e.g. age, functional impairment, diagnosis, etc.) are necessary criteria for services?

c.    What problems arise from the eligibility requirements?

3.    Agency awareness

a.    How are the referrals made for services?

b.    How do most of the clients learn about the agency services?

4.    Client perceptions

a.    What needs are met by this agency?

b.    What needs are not met by this agency?

c.    What are the barriers to getting the services?