Quest

Abstract

The aim of this study is to develop a system of evaluation known as Quest. Quest represents a means of conceptualizing the long-term residential support received by people with learning disabilities. It then operationalizes the conceptual framework as a system of four measures, the first two of which were developed as part of the study. These are: the Service Profile which gathers the facts about the structure of a residential service; the Support Questionnaire which measures the quality of the opportunities available to the people who receive the service; the Observation Profile, a revised measure of interaction between members of staff and people who receive the service; and the Occupational Stress Indicator which is a published measure of staff stress. Where appropriate, both new and revised measures are subjected to a number of assessments of reliability and validity with acceptable results in all cases. The relationship between the different measures is explored. Significant relationships are found between staff interaction style and both staff stress and service quality. This lays the ground for further research to link key service elements of structure and process to outcome and the development of measures which are accessible to people who receive services.