Bridget Hahn, OTD, OTR/L
Impact of Using a Knowledge Translation Framework
to Increase Utilization of the Assessment of Motor and
Process Skills in a Rehabilitation Setting
The Assessment of Motor Process Skills (AMPS)
is a standardized assessment, used to examine the
quality of a person’s occupational performance in a
natural environment (Fischer & Jones, 2010). The
use of such a standardized assessment is critical
for occupational therapy to meet third party payer
requirements, demonstrate the distinct value of the
profession and maximize client outcomes. Measuring
occupational performance also communicates the
intervention to clients, colleagues, and payer sources,
and guides occupation-based treatment. Furthermore,
current evidence trends favor occupation-based
over impairment-based interventions (Gillen et
al, 2015; Tomori et al, 2015; Wolf, Chuh, Floyd,
McInnis, & Williams, 2015). Although the AMPS
is advantageous, work by Chard (2000, 2004,
2006) documents limitations of its utility in clinical
practice. Barriers included: selecting clients, time,
and computer access.
The author used the knowledge to action (KTA)
framework to develop an intervention for increased
AMPS utilization in a rehabilitation setting (Straus,
Tetroe, & Graham, 2013) (See Figure 1).
Five AMPS calibrated
therapists completed a pre
and post survey assessing
barriers, facilitators, and
utilization of the AMPS.
Ten of the questions were
previously validated as
part of the Detriments of
Implementation Behavior
Questionnaire
(DIBQ)
(Huijg, et al., 2014). The
intervention was an online
self-study and 2 workshops, 2 weeks apart. The
intervention included: (a) critical discussion, (b)
reflection, (c) case study, (d) peer partners, (e) actions
plans, and (f ) protected treatment time. Additionally,
the author: (a) collaborated with organization leaders,
(b) made AMPS software available, and (c) created
a location to document in the electronic medical
record.
Participants identified time, resources,
scheduling, and client and task selection as barriers.
The post survey results indicated decreased frequency
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