Beliefs and behaviour: Professionals and the policy process

Occupational therapists' attitudes toward family-centered care

“…99-457 were found to have higher scores on the instrument. This finding demonstrates the influence of organizational culture on attitudes (Dalley, 1991 ).…”

“…Numerous studies suggest that professionals in higher-level positions such as head nurses and managers hold more favorable attitudes than individuals in staffpositions (Bruce et al, 2002;Dalley, 1991;Gill, 1987Gill, , 1993Humphry et al, 1992). More specifically, teachers and aides working in the trenches with a family may form different attitudes about that family than the administrator who is not involved with them on a daily basis.…”

“…The context of the education and socialization the health professional receives is consistently cited as an important variable influencing attitudes in the literature (Dalley, 1991;Eberhardt & Mayberry, 1995;Gardner, 1994;King et al, 2003;Maluccio, 1979).…”

“…Earlier studies of health professionals demonstrated that experienced clinicians held more positive attitudes toward families, the elderly and the disabled than novice clinicians (Dalley, 1991;Gill, 1987Gill, , 1993Humphry, Gonzalez, & Taylor, 1992;Letourneau & Elliot, 1996). This discrepancy can be explained by the impact of mandated changes on university and organizational training.…”

“…In reviewing what is known; attributes that have been consistently found in the literature to impact service providers' attitudes toward families can be delineated into three categories: (a) professional experiences, such as years of experience and current professional position (Gill, 1987(Gill, , 1993; (b) education, including preservice training and fieldwork with families of children with disabilities (Dalley, 1991 ); and (c) organizational culture (Royeen, Cromack, Degangi, & Poisson, 1996). The relationships of these three variables (professional experiences, education, and organizational culture) to pediatric occupational therapists' attitudes toward family-centered care were explored in this study.…”