RESUMEN
IMPORTANCE: There is an evidence-based need to assess the validity and reliability/precision of the revised American Occupational Therapy Association's Fieldwork Performance Evaluation (FWPE) items for the occupational therapy student (OTS) and the occupational therapy assistant student (OTAS). OBJECTIVE: To evaluate evidence of validity in relation to response processes, internal structure, and precision of the FWPEs. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study design. SETTING: OTS and OTAS fieldwork practice settings, United States. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred sixty-seven fieldwork educators participated in total, providing 228 OTS evaluations and 39 OTAS evaluations. OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: A Rasch model was used to evaluate aspects of validity and precision. RESULTS: The rating scales provided evidence of the tools' overall validity. Thirty-two of 37 items on the FWPE for the OTS, and 27 of 31 items on the FWPE for the OTAS demonstrated acceptable fit, but the evidence of unidimensionality in the subscales and in the total scales was not fully supported. The total/reduced FWPE scales were able to separate students into at least four distinct groups of fieldwork performance. The relationships between the current and revised FWPEs indicate that the new scales measure different but related constructs of student fieldwork performance, compared with the current version. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The findings support that the revised FWPEs for the OTS and OTAS demonstrate preliminary evidence of internal structure, response processes, and precision, supporting evidence-based practice in fieldwork evaluations. What This Article Adds: This article highlights evidence demonstrating the validity and precision of the revised American Occupational Therapy Association's Fieldwork Performance Evaluation items and supports academic and fieldwork settings for occupational therapy students and occupational therapy assistant students.
Asunto(s)
Terapia Ocupacional , Humanos , Estados Unidos , Terapia Ocupacional/educación , Estudios Transversales , Reproducibilidad de los ResultadosRESUMEN
IMPORTANCE: Occupational therapy education and practice has changed over time; however, items on the American Occupational Therapy Association's (AOTA's) Fieldwork Performance Evaluations (FWPEs) for the Occupational Therapy Student (OTS) and Occupational Therapy Assistant Student (OTAS) have not been updated in more than two decades. OBJECTIVE: To explore evidence of validity in relation to test content of the revised FWPEs for the OTS and OTAS. DESIGN: A qualitative study using cognitive interviews was conducted to gather perspectives on the revised FWPEs, including updated items and a proposed rating scale. A content analysis approach was used to link patterns in responses to stable, meaningful constructs to further align and refine content of the tool before further validation. SETTING: Fieldwork sites and academic settings. PARTICIPANTS: Eighteen fieldwork educators (FWEs) and academic fieldwork coordinators. RESULTS: Seven areas for refinement were identified: (1) relevance to a variety of practice settings, (2) overlapping and redundant items, (3) long item statements, (4) double- and triple-barreled item statements, (5) alignment between OTS and OTAS items, (6) further alignment with AOTA and Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education documents and contemporary practice, and (7) wording and features of the proposed rating scale. The findings guided revisions of FWPE content. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Cognitive interviewing was a critical step in refining the FWPE items to support content validity. The issues identified may not have been detected using traditional approaches to survey development and therefore were critical in maximizing the validity and usefulness of the final items, which will ultimately benefit fieldwork educators and students. WHAT THIS ARTICLE ADDS: This study resulted in refinements to FWPE items before the next step in the validation process, ultimately improving the final FWPE items. In addition, this article outlines a process that other researchers can use to validate similar tools.
Asunto(s)
Terapia Ocupacional , Humanos , Estudiantes , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Estados UnidosRESUMEN
Interest in the emerging role for occupational therapy in the primary care practice setting has increased due to implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), which intends to expand health care coverage to uninsured Americans while improving coordination of care, health outcomes, and cost savings. Expanding occupational therapy to encompass promotion of wellness and prevention in a primary care context provides an opportunity for occupational therapy. The purpose of this article is to describe the role of occupational therapy in primary care and how the Scholarship of Practice model can guide the development of occupation-based and evidence-based best practice in primary care.