ABSTRACT
The extent and type of consumer involvement in healthcare vary considerably. Equating consumer involvement with consumer reaction can betray the professional’s view of the consumer. H. R. Kelman, referring specifically to consumer involvement in the evaluation of healthcare quality, argues that some professionals and managers tend to regard consumers, or ‘recipients’ of care, essentially as data sources, often within studies where the parameters being measured ‘are not necessarily the dimensions of major concern to consumers’. ‘Active’ or ‘initiator’ involvement, in contrast, requires that consumers have more influence on proposals, especially on their initiation and formulation. One mechanism, which is often proposed to effect this type of involvement, is consumer participation in the decision-making or management bodies themselves. Involving the public in determining priorities for the rationing of services can serve to legitimise those decisions. Equating consumer involvement with consumer reaction can betray the professional’s view of the consumer.
