The Occupational Therapy Examination and Practice Preparation (OTepp) Program: Development, Implementation and Evaluation of an Educational Program for Internationally-Educated Occupational Therapists

This paper provides a chronological overview of the development, implementation, and evaluation of an educational initiative aimed at ensuring internationally-educated occupational therapists are prepared to enter practice in their new country, Canada. The three major phases of the program’s 12-year evolution are described, to distill the key lessons learned at each phase. Data related to the demographics of participants, program content, results of the national examination, registration, and employment outcomes are included. An enhanced understanding of the transition experience of internationally educated occupational therapists provides a strong foundation from which to support internationally-educated colleagues and strengthen the occupational therapy profession

Partnering for Change: collaborating to transform occupational therapy services that support inclusive education

The United Nations champions inclusive education as a moral obligation, requiring equitable learning environments that meet all individuals’ diverse learning needs and abilities, including children and youth. Yet the practice of inclusive education is variable and implementation challenges persist. A participatory action research framework was used to develop a solution, Partnering for Change (P4C), which is a tiered service delivery model that bridges health and education by re-envisioning occupational therapy services and transforming the role of the occupational therapist from a service provider for individual children to a collaborative partner supporting the whole school community. This perspective article will describe the P4C model and its evolution, and will outline how it has been implemented in Canadian and international contexts to facilitate children’s inclusion and participation in educational settings

Identifying children who are struggling in school

Abstract : Introduction : School-age children with motor coordination challenges typically require formal referral for occupational therapy services and often experience lengthy wait times for one-to-one intervention. In a new service delivery model called Partnering for Change, therapists work collaboratively with educators in classrooms to observe, identify, and support children. This study describes children identified through a traditional referral process and compares them with children identified by occupational therapists through classroom observation and dynamic performance analysis. Methods : Participants included 246 children enrolled in a 2-year evaluative study of the Partnering for Change service delivery. Parents completed a demographic questionnaire, the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Children’s educators completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the School Function Assessment. Children completed the Movement Assessment Battery for Children. Results : Children identified were significantly younger and more likely to be girls than those referred under the traditional model. Using observation and dynamic performance analysis, occupational therapists identified children who had equally marked difficulties as those who came from the waitlist. In the Partnering for Change model, waitlists for service were eliminated for all children. Conclusions : Occupational therapists can identify children who are experiencing significant challenges participating at school without the need for standardized assessment, formal referrals, and waitlists

Establishing and sustaining authentic organizational partnerships in childhood disability research: lessons learned

Abstract There is an increased interest from both researchers and knowledge users to partner in research to generate meaningful research ideas, implement research projects, and disseminate research findings. There is accumulating research evidence to suggest the benefits of engaging children/youth with disabilities and their parents/families in research partnerships; however, less is known about the benefits of, and challenges to, engaging organizations as partners in research. The purpose of this commentary is to reflect on successful organizational partnership experiences from the perspectives of researchers at an internationally-recognized childhood disability research centre (CanChild), and to identify and share key ingredients for developing partnerships between organizations and academic institutions. A companion study is underway to examine partnership experiences with CanChild from the partners’ perspective. Four CanChild researchers and two co-facilitators participated in a collaborative auto-ethnography approach to share experiences with organizational research partnerships and to reflect, interpret, and synthesize common themes and lessons learned. The researchers and facilitators met virtually via Zoom for 105 min. Researchers were asked to discuss the following: the formation of their organizational partnerships; if/how partnerships evolved over time; if/how partnerships were sustained; and lessons learned about benefits and challenges to building research partnerships with organizations. The meeting was recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed by the facilitators to identify and synthesize common experiences and reflections. Multiple rounds of asynchronous reflection and feedback supported refinement of the final set of analytic themes. Researchers agreed that partnerships with organizations should be formed through a mutual interest, and that partnerships evolved by branching to include new organizations and researchers, while also involving trainees. Researchers identified the importance of defining roles and responsibilities of key individuals within each partnering group to sustain the partnership. Lessons learned from organizational partnerships included reciprocity between the partnering organization and academic institution, leveraging small pockets of funds to sustain a partnership over time, and building a strong rapport with individuals in a partnership. This commentary summarized lessons-learned and provided recommendations for researchers and organizations to consider when forming, growing, and sustaining research partnerships over time

Image_1_Structural validity and internal consistency of an outcome measure to assess self-reported educator capacity to support children with motor difficulties.PDF

BackgroundPartnering for Change (P4C) is a school-based occupational therapy service intended to build the capacity of educators to support children with motor difficulties.AimsThis paper describes the development of the Partnering for Change Educator Questionnaire and evaluates its structural validity and internal consistency.Methods and proceduresThe P4C Educator Questionnaire was completed by 1,216 educators four times across 2 years. Data from the initial time point were analysed via exploratory factor analysis (n = 436). Subsequently, Cronbach’s alpha and mean interitem correlations were calculated. Finally, the proposed factor structure was confirmed by testing it against data from times two through four using confirmatory factor analysis (n = 688).Outcomes and resultsA three-factor structure was evident and confirmed in hypothesis testing. The factor structure was interpretable according to the framework for building educator capacity used in this study. Internal consistency was high, with the total scale outperforming each subscale.Conclusions and implicationsA novel measure of educator self-reported capacity to support students with motor difficulties demonstrated structural validity and internal consistency. We currently recommend use as a complete scale accompanied by additional validation research.</p