Digitalization enables public organizations to personalize their services, tuning them to the specific situation, abilities, and preferences of the citizens. At the same time, digital services can be experienced as being less personal than face-to-face contact by citizens. The large existing volume of academic literature on personalization mainly represents the service provider perspective. In contrast, in this paper we investigate what makes citizens experience a service as personal. The result are eight dimensions that capture the full range of individual experiences and expectations that citizens expressed in focus groups. These dimensions can serve as a framework for public sector organizations to explore the expectations of citizens of their own services and identify the areas in which they can improve the personal experiences they offer.
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Person-centered care interventions can improve the quality of life and decrease behavioral problems of people with dementia. Although not convincingly proven, person-centered care interventions may benefit the caregivers as well. This study aims to gain insight into how working with the Veder Contact Method (VCM) – a new person-centered care method – influences the job satisfaction of caregivers.
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Objective: The aim of this study was to obtain insight in specific elements influencing the use, non-use, satisfaction, and dissatisfaction of ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) and the presence of underexposed problems with respect to AFOs. Methods: A questionnaire was composed to obtain information from AFO users to investigate the variables associated with satisfaction and the relation between these variables. A specific feature of this study was the systematic analysis of the remarks made by the respondents about their AFO. Quantitative data analyses were used for analysing the satisfaction and qualitative analyses were used analysing the remarks of the respondents. A total of 211 users completed the questionnaire. Results: Our survey showed that 1 out of 15 AFOs were not used at all. About three quarters of the AFO users were satisfied and about one quarter was dissatisfied. Females and users living alone reported relatively high levels of dissatisfaction, especially in the field of dimensions, comfort, weight, safety and effectiveness. Dissatisfaction with respect to off-the-shelf AFOs for the item durability was higher than that for custom-made AFOs. In the delivery and maintenance process the items ‘maintenance’, ‘professionalism’ and ‘delivery follow-up’ were judged to be unsatisfactory. A large number of comments were made by the respondents to improve the device or process, mainly by the satisfied AFO users. These comments show that even satisfied users experience many problems and that a lot of problems of AFO users are ‘underexposed’. Conclusion: To improve user satisfaction, the user practice has to be identified as an important sub-process of the whole orthopaedic chain especially in the diagnosis and prescription, delivery tuning and maintenance, and evaluation phase.
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Research has shown that some 30% of total care needs in people with late-life depression (LLD) are unmet. It is not known to what extent patients actually don’t receive any care for these needs or consider the care to be insufficient and their satisfaction with the provided care. Results: In 67% of patients, at least one unmet need was ascertained. In most cases (80%) care was actually provided for those needs by professionals and/or informal caregivers. Patients were satisfied with the care delivered for 81% of the reported care needs. Satisfaction was lowest for social care needs (67%). For six specific care needs it was demonstrated that dissatisfied patients were significantly more depressed than satisfied patients. Conclusion: Even though patients might receive care for certain needs, this does not mean that their needs are met. A substantial proportion of patients with LDD feel that they need additional help for unmet needs.
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Customer-supplier relationships are becoming more digital. However, a personal approach still seems to be a key success factor in the service journey, creating an optimal customer experience. In this research, we investigated the effects of a personal communication approach on customer experience and customer relationship. The personal touch was operationalised in two studies focusing on written forms of communication (Study 1) and spoken forms of communication (Study 2) amongst customers of an energy company. Both studies show that a personal tone of voice in customer contact results in a more positive customer experience (in terms of consumption emotions, customer satisfaction and recommendation intention). However, it does not impact the long term relationships between service provider and customers. Customers do not adjust previously built relationship norms when they are approached in a more or less personal way, as long as the chosen approach does not violate relationship norms. The research is relevant for organisations interested in the effects of a more personal approach in customer contact. The paper combines existing theories on customer experience and customer communication with the existing theories on relational models.
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Differentiating perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns, the present study examined how perfectionism predicts what coping strategies people use, when dealing with failures, and how perfectionism and coping influence people's satisfaction. A sample of 149 students completed daily reports for 3-14 days, reporting the most bothersome failure they experienced during the day, what strategies they used to cope with the failure, and how satisfied they felt at the end of the day. Multilevel regression analyses showed that perfectionistic concerns predicted more frequent use of self-blame, less frequent use of active coping and acceptance, and higher satisfaction at the end of the day, whereas perfectionistic strivings predicted less frequent use of self-blame and higher satisfaction. Although positive reframing, acceptance, and humor predicted higher satisfaction for all students, further analyses showed that positive reframing coping was particularly helpful for students high in perfectionistic concern. The findings suggest that accommodative coping strategies are generally helpful in dealing with personal failures, with positive reframing being a coping strategy that works particularly well for people high in perfectionistic concerns (who are prone to dissatisfaction) to achieve higher satisfaction at the end of the day.
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A first episode of psychosis (FEP) is a stressful, often life-changing experience. Scarce information is available about personal preferences regarding their care needs during and after a FEP. Whereas a more thorough understanding of these preferences is essential to aid shared decision-making during treatment and improve treatment satisfaction. Methods: Face-to-face interviews with participants in remission of a FEP were setup, addressing personal preferences and needs for care during and after a FEP. The interviews were conducted by a female and a male researcher, the latter being an expert with lived experience. Results: Twenty individuals in remission of a FEP were interviewed, of which 16 had been hospitalized. The distinguished themes based on personal preferences were tranquility, peace and quietness, information, being understood, support from significant others, and practical guidance in rebuilding one's life. Our findings revealed that the need for information and the need to be heard were often not sufficiently met. For 16/20 participants, the tranquility of inpatient treatment of the FEP was pre-dominantly perceived as a welcome safe haven. The presence and support of family and close friends were mentioned as an important factor in the process of achieving remission.
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Activity-based work environments are widely adopted; however, research shows mixed findings regarding privacy issues, satisfaction with the work environment, and task performance. To further our understanding, two complementary studies drawing on Person-Environment fit theory were conducted: (1) A field study using experience sampling, and (2) A lab study in a virtual reality studio. The results from both studies confirm that perceived fit is a function of activity, work setting, and personal need for privacy, with indirect effects on satisfaction with the work environment (Studies 1 and 2) and task performance (Study 2). Across both studies, a misfit was perceived particularly among workers high in personal need for privacy when performing high-complexity tasks in an open office work setting. Hence, we recommend that organizations facilitate and stimulate their workers to create better fits between activities, work settings, and personal characteristics.
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This thesis reports on an interpretative case study about student teachers’ and new teachers’ personal interpretations in their teaching practice, during and after an international teaching internship. The main aim of this study was to describe how an international teaching internship interrupts existing, familiar ways of thinking or acting. The findings are an interpretation of how this interruption influences student teachers’ and new teachers’ “personal interpretative frameworks” (Kelchtermans, 2009) during their teacher training programmes and transition from student to teacher. This framework reflects the basis on which a beginning teacher grounds their personal decisions or judgements for action and answers the questions: ‘how can I effectively deal with this particular situation? and ‘why would I work that way?’ (Vanassche & Kelchtermans, 2014, p. 118).
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Objective: A key aspect of psychiatric rehabilitation is supporting individuals with serious mental illness in reaching personal goals. This study aimed to investigate whether various aspects of the working alliance predict successful goal attainment and whether goal attainment improves subjective quality of life, independent of the ehabilitation approach used. Methods: Secondary analyses were conducted of data from a Dutch randomized clinical trial on goal attainment by individuals supported with the Boston University approach to psychiatric rehabilitation (N=80) or a generic approach (N=76). Working alliance was measured with the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) from the practitioner’s perspective. Rehabilitation practitioners had backgrounds in social work, nursing, or vocational rehabilitation. Multiple logistic regression and multiple regression analyses explored effects of working alliance on goal attainment and of goal attainment on subjective quality of life at 24 months. Analyses were controlled for client- and process-related predictors, baseline quality of life, and rehabilitation approach. Results: The WAI goal subscale predicted goal attainment at 24 months. No effect was found for the bond or task subscale. Goal attainment significantly predicted quality of life at 24 months. These effects were independent of the rehabilitation approach used. Conclusions: A good bond between client and practitioner is not enough to attain successful rehabilitation outcomes. Findings suggest that it is important to discuss clients’ wishes and ambitions and form an agreement on goals. Attaining rehabilitation goals directly influenced the subjective quality of life of individuals with serious mental illness, which underscores the importance of investing in these forms of client support.
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