Digital Commons Network^™

Equine Assisted Programs For Military Service Members: A Program Evaluation Using Importance-Performance Analysis, Taylor Hooker

All Theses

Developing research, anecdotal evidence and a growing focus on non-pharmacological interventions for veterans with post-traumatic stress support the use equine-therapy as a therapeutic outlet; however, programmatic factors that contribute to veteran’s desire to attend such programs are under-investigated. Furthermore, evaluative processes in equine therapy for this particular population are scare and vary greatly from program to program. The use of the Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) tool when applied to social services yields direct, applicable feedback of program success and relevancy. In this study, interviews with the selected population informed the evaluation tool used to assess the importance, and subsequent performance, of …