When programs benefit some people more than others: tests of differential service effectiveness.
Practitioners need to know for whom evidence-based services are most or least effective, but few services research studies provide this information. Using data from a randomized controlled comparison of supported employment findings for two multi-service psychiatric rehabilitation programs, we illustrate and compare procedures for measuring program-by-client characteristic interactions depicting differential program effectiveness, and then illustrate how a significant program-by-client interaction can explain overall program differences in service effectiveness. Interaction analyses based on cluster analysis-identified sample subgroups appear to provide statistically powerful and meaningful hypothesis tests that can aid in the interpretation of main effect findings and help to refine program theory.
McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA. cmacias@mclean.harvard.edu
Cathaleene
C
Macias
Danson R
DR
Jones
William A
WA
Hargreaves
Qi
Q
Wang
Charles F
CF
Rodican
Paul J
PJ
Barreira
Paul B
PB
Gold
D016832:Employment, Supported; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D016730:Program Development; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic