Understanding allied health practitioners’ use of evidence-based assessments for children with cerebral palsy: a mixed methods study

O’Connor, Bridget; Kerr, Claire; Shields, Nora; Imms, Christine

doi:10.1080/09638288.2017.1373376

Cited by 12 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…This is supported in previous research where measures were used less frequently in children with more severe physical impairments (Hanna et al, ; King et al, ). Therapists' reasons for not using standardized assessments included that tests were perceived to be available only for children with mild physical problems (Howard, ) and appropriate tools had not yet been developed for children with complex needs (O'Connor, Kerr, Shields, & Imms, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of outcome measures in children with severe cerebral palsy: A survey of U.K. physiotherapists

Knox

Vuoskoski

Mandy

2019

Physiotherapy Res Intl

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Objectives To investigate the use of outcome measures for children with cerebral palsy (CP) by paediatric physiotherapists (PTs) who are based in the United Kingdom, as limited research exists regarding their use in this population, and to explore therapists' use of measures within different Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels and for different types of CP. Methods A six‐item online survey was advertised through two paediatric therapy special interest groups inviting physiotherapists to participate. Descriptive statistics (range, frequencies, and percentages) were used to analyse survey data. Results Two hundred and seven physiotherapists returned completed survey questionnaires. One hundred and seventy‐six (85%) therapists reported using a wide variety of outcome measures (57). Eighty‐one per cent of therapists' responses for having “most difficulty” in identifying responsive outcome measures were for children with impaired mobility at GMFCS Levels IV–V and children with more significant body involvement (76%), for example, spastic quadriplegia or dyskinesia. Eighty‐six per cent of therapists' responses for having “greatest ease” of identifying responsive outcome measures were for children within GMFCS Levels I–III and for children with less significant body involvement (72%), for example, hemiplegia. The variety of outcome measures used by therapists with children within GMFCS IV–V was less (16). Conclusions The majority (85%) of the PTs surveyed used outcome measures with children with CP, but 81% perceived a difficulty in identifying responsive measures for children with more severe impairments who are classified as GMFCS IV–V. The reasons for this perceived difficulty warrant investigation and may suggest a need for training regarding relevant measures and/or a need to develop new measures for this group of children.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of outcome measures in children with severe cerebral palsy: A survey of U.K. physiotherapists

Knox

Vuoskoski

Mandy

2019

Physiotherapy Res Intl

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“…An Australian study of paediatric allied health therapists in rehabilitation settings for children with cerebral palsy (CP) has reported low use of evidence‐based measures (O'Connor et al , ). Occupational therapists who work with children with CP are often involved in providing intervention for hand function and upper limb development, as hand function is important in the performance of self‐care and activities of daily living.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Evidence-based practice and family-centred care are frameworks core to paediatric occupational therapy practice (Case-Smith, 2015). One component of evidence-based practice is the selection of relevant, appropriate and useful outcome measures (Occupational Therapy Australia, 2019). Using a measure which is appropriate to an individual child and relevant to a family's needs, facilitates informed discussion of the child's strengths with the family, which in turn assists with goal setting and development of intervention plans (King, Wright, & Russell, 2011;O'Connor, Kerr, Shields, & Imms, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One component of evidence-based practice is the selection of relevant, appropriate and useful outcome measures (Occupational Therapy Australia, 2019). Using a measure which is appropriate to an individual child and relevant to a family's needs, facilitates informed discussion of the child's strengths with the family, which in turn assists with goal setting and development of intervention plans (King, Wright, & Russell, 2011;O'Connor, Kerr, Shields, & Imms, 2017). Setting measurable goals and measuring outcomes is necessary for substantiating treatment effects, providing feedback to workplace organisations and generating evidence (Novak et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A systematic review of upper limb activity measures for 5‐ to 18‐year‐old children with bilateral cerebral palsy

Burgess

Boyd

Ziviani

et al. 2019

Aus Occup Therapy J

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Aim To investigate measurement properties and feasibility of upper limb activity measures in children aged 5–18 years with bilateral cerebral palsy (CP). Methods Five electronic databases were searched to identify measures of upper limb activity with published psychometric data for children with bilateral CP aged 5–18 years. Measures included both Patient‐Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) and observational measures. The COnsensus‐based Standards for selection of health Measurement Instruments checklist was used to evaluate methodological quality of studies for each measure. Results Forty‐eight measures were identified, eight of which met inclusion criteria for reliability and validity. Four PROMs were included: the ABILHAND‐Kids and Children’s Arm Rehabilitation Measure are parent questionnaires measuring overall manual ability; the ACTIVLIM‐CP is a parent questionnaire measuring global activity (upper and lower extremity) performance, and, the Pediatric Upper Limb Measure, Short Form is a child self‐report questionnaire. Four observational measures were included: the Both Hands Assessment (BoHA) is an observational measure of bimanual activity performance; the Melbourne Assessment of Unilateral Upper Limb Function and the Melbourne Assessment 2 measure quality of movement of each upper limb separately, and the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales‐Second Edition assesses fine motor skill capacity in young children. Based upon available evidence, the most suitable PROM for evaluation of upper limb activity in children with bilateral CP is the ACTIVLIM‐CP, and the most suitable observational measure is the BoHA. Conclusion Selection of upper limb measures depend on clinical information required and available resources. The BoHA is the only observational‐based assessment which measures bimanual upper limb activity performance in children with bilateral CP. Recommendation for future measurement studies include familiarisation with the standards required for excellence, which include adequate sample size and content validity studies for PROMs.

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“…Uncertainty about parents' perceptions of formally administered assessments and potential impact on the parent-professional relationship has been identified as a "sticking point" by therapists [20][21][22][23]. Parent perspectives of specific evidence-based assessment tools are variable, with some assessment tools perceived more positively [24][25][26][27] than others [18,28,29].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Steering towards collaborative assessment: a qualitative study of parents’ experiences of evidence-based assessment practices for their child with cerebral palsy

O’Connor

Kerr

Shields

et al. 2019

Disability and Rehabilitation

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Understanding allied health practitioners’ use of evidence-based assessments for children with cerebral palsy: a mixed methods study

Cited by 12 publications

References 65 publications

Use of outcome measures in children with severe cerebral palsy: A survey of U.K. physiotherapists

Use of outcome measures in children with severe cerebral palsy: A survey of U.K. physiotherapists

A systematic review of upper limb activity measures for 5‐ to 18‐year‐old children with bilateral cerebral palsy

Steering towards collaborative assessment: a qualitative study of parents’ experiences of evidence-based assessment practices for their child with cerebral palsy

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