Utility of the Occupation-Centered Intervention Assessment for Occupational Therapy Level I Fieldwork

Abstract

This study examined the utility of the Occupation-Centered Intervention Assessment (OCIA) among occupational therapy students and their perceptions of the use of an occupation-centered approach to design interventions during level I fieldwork. Twenty-five students completed training on the OCIA, used the tool on level 1 fieldwork, and then completed a post-test survey containing closed and open-ended questions. Content analysis was used to analyze open-ended questions. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze quantitative data. Overall, students (N = 25) found the OCIA to be a beneficial tool to utilize during fieldwork experiences to recognize and develop interventions from an occupation-centered approach. Currently the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework and models of practice are the primary tools available for student reflection for intervention design. The findings of this study supported the need for a reflection tool to aide in the development and implementation of occupation-centered reasoning during fieldwork experiences.

The Occupation-Centered Intervention Assessment: Bridging Theory and Practice in Fieldwork Education

“…Aligning with preliminary results from prior studies regarding utility in academic and fieldwork settings (Frigo et al, 2019;Jewell, Phillips, et al, 2020), novice fieldwork students tend to prefer rules and structure to guide decision-making rather than depending on observation-based analysis thus may find the OCIA beneficial during initial experiences within clinical practice (Copley et al, 2010). This study of the OCIA was conducted in Anchorage, Alaska, and was limited to participants within the state.…”

“…Current literature indicates a gap between students' academic knowledge and clinical experience during Level II fieldwork regarding occupation-centered practice (Frigo et al, 2019;Copley et al, 2010). Evidence from this study suggested FWEs may not use an occupation-centered perspective to develop interventions.…”

“…The OCIA demonstrated fair clinical utility and good content validity for use within mental health settings and general usefulness in clinical pediatric settings (Hinkley et al, 2020;Wienkes et al, in press). Additionally, the OCIA demonstrated preliminary usefulness for Level I fieldwork students as a tool to connect occupationcentered theoretical concepts to intervention implementation and improved professional reasoning skills for Level II students for the transition to clinical practice (Frigo et al, 2019;Jewell, Phillips, et al, 2020).…”

The Nature of Theory Used in Practice Education: A Scoping Review

“…Nine research studies described qualitative methodologies including exploratory, phenomenological, and social constructionist perspectives. Two used a quantitative research framework consisting of an exploratory survey (Ashby & Chandler, 2010) and a post-test survey following a training event in which descriptive statistics were used to analyse closed-ended questions (Frigo et al, 2019). Interviews were most frequently used to collect data.…”

“…• Occupation-based practice (Dancza & Rodger, 2018;Di Tommaso et al, 2019;Raiz, 2007;Towns & Ashby, 2014;Vermaak & Nel, 2016), • Occupation-centred practice (Copley et al, 2011;Dancza & Rodger, 2018;Hanson, 2013b;Kaelin & Dancza, 2019), • Occupation-focused practice (Dancza & Rodger, 2018;Towns & Ashby, 2014) occupation-centred (Bergner, 2018;Copley et al, 2011;Copley et al, 2010;Frigo et al, 2019;Hanson, 2013b) • Occupation-based approaches (Di Tommaso et al, 2019;Hanson, 2013b).…”