A Family-centered Teaching Model in Pediatric Occupational Therapy Internship

Effects of a Family-centered Teaching Model on Intern's Perceptions and Children's Occupational Performance

Most of the occupational therapy students received the knowledge of family-centered services when they studies in universities, however, the experience of family-centered practice during internships is limited. The purpose is to design a family-centered teaching model and to examine the effects of the teaching model. The positive results showed on students' perceptions and children's occupational performance.

The study examined the differences of interns' perceptions of services toward family-centeredness and children' occupational performance between a family-centered teaching (FACT) model and a conventional family approach incorporated in internships. A two-group quasi-experimental design was employed. Participants included 49 interns, 44 caregivers, and 45 children with disabilities under six-year-old. The perceptions of interns toward FCS in both groups were measured using the Chinese version of the "Measure of Processes of Care-Service Provider" (C-MPOC-SP) at the pre- and post- tests. Children' occupational performance in both groups was rated using the "Canadian Occupational Performance Measure" (COPM) for the pre- and post-tests. Interns in the experimental group demonstrated a significant increase in two of the four C-MPOC-SP subscales compared to their counterparts. Children' scores improved significantly in COPM performance subtest for experimental group, but not on the COPM satisfaction subscale.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Children with developmental delays/disabilities and their caregivers
2. Children with developmental delays/disabilities under six years old
3. The caregivers of the children with disabilities are aged 20 years old or older
4. The caregivers of the children with disabilities or delays can follow the instruction to administer the assessment
5. Students are participating in internships of the pediatric occupational therapy clinical unit at the hospitals.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Caregiver suffered from mental illness and had difficulty to complet the study.