THE QUOTA SYSTEM IN BURN REHABILITATION

This article describes the quota system as a treatment for the helples sness behaviors and depressive symptoms that develop in some patients with burn injuries. With an A-B single-case design, the quota system w as implemented for a patient who had sustained a particularly severe b urn injury. A series of baseline behaviors were measured for 3 days, a nd then 80% of the patient's average performance on each of the target ed behaviors was computed and used as the initial quota value. The beh avioral quotas were increased systematically and gradually by approxim ately 5% to 10% every day. The results suggest that the quota system m ay have been effective in decreasing an overall trend toward passivity in increasing 3 of 4 targeted rehabilitation behaviors, and in reduci ng depressive symptoms in a patient with a particularly devastating in jury.