The purpose of this study was to examine pediatric occupational therapists attitudes towards family-centered care. Specific attributes identified by the literature (professional characteristics, educational experiences and organizational culture) were investigated to determine their influence on these attitudes. Study participants were 250 pediatric occupational therapists who were randomly selected from the American Occupational Therapy Association special interest sections.
Participants received a mail packet with three instruments to complete and mail back within 2 weeks. The instruments were (a) the Professional Attitude Scale (b) the Professional Characteristics Questionnaire, and (c) the Family-Centered Program Rating Scale. There was a 50% return rate. Data analysis was conducted in SPSS using descriptive statistics, correlations and regression analysis.
The analysis showed that pediatric occupational therapists working in various practice settings demonstrate favorable attitudes toward family-centered care as measured by the Professional Attitude Scale. There was no correlation between professional characteristics and educational experiences to therapists' attitudes. A moderate correlation (r=.368, p
These study findings suggest that organizational culture has some influence on occupational therapists attitudes toward family-centered care (R2 =.16). These findings suggest educators should consider families as valuable resources when considering program planning in family-centered care at preservice and workplace settings.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fiu.edu/oai:digitalcommons.fiu.edu:etd-3271 |
| Date | 30 July 2004 |
| Creators | Bloch, Elise M. |
| Publisher | FIU Digital Commons |
| Source Sets | Florida International University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations |
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