The extent, nature, and utility of evaluating consumer satisfaction in community mental health centers

Evaluating consumer perceptions is a recent development in community mental health. The authors surveyed the 504 federally funded community mental health centers to discover the extent to which they assessed consumer satisfaction, the methods used to collect data, and the utility of the results. Of the 366 centers that responded, 48% had gathered consumer feedback in the previous 18 months, and most others planned to initiate such evaluations within a year. Methods of conducting the studies were extremely diverse. Respondents felt the results were useful and shared them primarily with agency personnel, rather than with outside funders, fellow agencies, or clients. The authors conclude that community mental health centers are evaluating consumer satisfaction more frequently than in the recent past, but this movement has not yet developed clear, standardized methods. Until evaluators consolidate their efforts this evaluation strategy will continue to have limited utility.