Behaviours demonstrating active offer: Identification, measurement, and determinants

In this chapter, we present the behaviours we have identified encouraging and demonstrating the active offer (AO) of social services and health care in French in minority settings, how we measured them, and how we used these measurements to identify the determinants of AO. We will discuss the tools we developed to measure individual AO behaviours, individual perception of organizational support for AO, and personal characteristics that influence AO behaviours (determinants). Various quantitative methods were used to reach our objectives. The results demonstrate that organizational support is the most important determinant of individual AO behaviours. Once controlled for, additional factors included three personal characteristics that increase propensity to demonstrate AO behaviour: education about AO, affirmation of Francophone identity, and competency in French. The sense of competency in English, on the other hand, has a negative association with AO of French-language service. A better understanding of these determinants enables us to refine our strategies to improve the awareness and education of future health and social service professionals on AO. Key Words: active offer behaviours, measurement, determinants, organizational support, individual behaviours, quantitative research.

Chapter 12