None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Previous studies have highlighted the need for better training of health professionals in outcome measurement, so that limited time and resources are spent on interventions that improve the health of the population. Currently less than 30% of allied health professionals routinely use outcome measures in practice. Fewer still use reliable, published measures. The primary aim of this study is to: Determine the effectiveness of a one-day interactive educational workshop, with printed educational materials and 3 months email and telephone follow-up support on the use of outcome measures by allied health professionals. All allied health professionals (N=121) employed by The Spastic Centre of New South Wales were invited to participate in the study. The study assessed changes in outcome measurement behaviour, knowledge and skills at baseline, 3 months and 6 months.
Interventions
Intervention Group 1) One-day interactive educational workshop consisting of lectures, small group work and discussion sessions. Content covered included an introduction to outcome measures, setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Activity based, Review, Time frame) goals, the outcome measurement process, strategies to successfully implement outcome measures, information on nine specific outcome measures relevant to people with cerebral palsy and autism and their carers, matching client limitations and outcome measures, and reporting outcome measure results and clinical decision making. 2) Resource folder containing notes from lectures and small group and discussion activities. A summary and critique of the 9 outcome measures presented including information on developers, access to the measure, cost, copyright, a description of the measure, administration, scoring and interpretation, suitable populations, languages the measure has been published in, International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) level/s targetted by the measure, psychometric properties and references. 3) 3 months of email and telephone follow-up support. All participants in the intervention group receceived 1 group email per week. The purpose of the email was to encourage clinicians to use outcome measures in their daily practise, provide additional information on outcome measures that may be of use to them. The researcher also responded to all individual emails and telephone calls received from participants in the intervention group.
Sponsors
Study design
Eligibility
Inclusion criteria
1) Be employed by The Spastic Centre New South Wales; 2) Have professional qualifications (diploma, undergraduate degree or postgraduate degree) in the following allied health disciplines: Occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech pathology, psychology, social work, social welfare or counselling;3) Be of working age
Exclusion criteria
Allied health professionals employed by The Spastic Centre of New South Wales who do not treat clients will be excluded from participating in this study. The reason for this being that participants must be in a position where they actively treat clients in order to be able to measure client progress and effectiveness of interventions using outcome measures.