Understanding and Enhancing Occupational Therapists’ Use of Standard Family-Centered Measures

Importance: The use of standard family-centered measures (FCMs) is imperative to guide family-centered care (FCC) interventions and monitor their outcomes. Objective: To measure the frequency of FCM use and evaluate the effectiveness of experiential learning and reflection to increase their use. Design: Descriptive and two-group pre–post comparative training study. Setting: Continuing education center. Participants: Phase 1 included 145 health care providers. Phase 2 included 44 school-based occupational therapists who participated in Phase 1. Intervention: Phase 2 participants enrolled in 30-hr FCC training that included a 2-hr workshop on FCM. One group (n = 22) conducted an FCM with a family and wrote a reflective report. Outcomes and Measures: All participants completed the Measure of Processes of Care–Service Provider (MPOC–SP) questionnaire and reported how frequently they used FCMs. Results: FCM use rates were low (50%, not at all; 26%, to a very small extent). The extent of FCC was correlated with FCM use (r = .24–.30, p < .01). A Wilcoxon signed-rank test demonstrated that participants who administered an FCM with a family and reflected on this experience showed significant increases (Z = 176.0, p = .001) in FCM use compared with participants who were only instructed about available FCM. A Mann–Whitney U test confirmed the difference (U = 3.54, p = .012). Conclusions and Relevance: FCM use is sparse, but experiential and reflective activities are simple keys to promoting FCC and integrating FCM into practice. What This Article Adds: Training designers, educators, and managers should consider integrating experiential learning to enhance providers’ expertise and quality of care.