Significance of consumer directed personal attendant services (CDPAS) outcomes in a community-based setting

Consumer Directed Personal Attendant Services (CDPAS) is a Medicaid funded program providing personal attendant services to individuals with disabilities (consumers). In CDPAS programs, consumers hire and train their own attendants to assist them with activities of daily living (ADLs) such as: bathing, toileting, meal preparation, housekeeping, and essential transportation. Consumers are responsible for locating, hiring, setting work schedules and managing their own attendants. Numerous studies have demonstrated that people with disabilities prefer CDPAS to agency-directed personal attendant care services. However, attendant satisfaction questionnaires mandated by state agencies have not been developed using either psychometric or clinometric methods. Paraquad Independent Living Center in Saint Louis, MO is in the process of testing the reliability and validity of instruments to assess the effects of the CDPAS program on the lives the consumers and providers. The measure is composed of demographics, health resource use, evaluation of the attendant care, personal care activities with and without attendant care, and community participation. One hundred individuals receiving CDPAS were asked to complete a phone survey at baseline and again after two to four weeks. This instrument will be used as an outcome measure for a training program for both consumers and their personal attendants. The results of this training intervention will be presented. The presentation will include the results of the psychometric tests. In addition, the implementation of the use of this instrument by an independent living center will be described.