An Evaluation of Daily Stress and Procedural Fidelity Among Direct Care Staff

ABSTRACT

Many variables may affect procedural fidelity to behavior intervention plans including intervention complexity, training, and resources. Chronic stress has been linked to staff member burnout and turnover; however, there is a dearth of information regarding how acute daily stressors may relate to procedural fidelity. We assessed procedural fidelity through direct observation and perceived daily stress among eight direct care staff. Overall, nonparametric analyses suggested that on days when staff members reported an increased number of daily stressors, their procedural fidelity scores were also higher. The results of this preliminary study support the need for continued research on how acute stress may affect direct care staff member’s job performance to promote high levels of procedural fidelity.

KEYWORDS:

• perceived stress
• procedural fidelity
• staff members

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Lucy Barnard-Brak for her consultation on statistics.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.