The development of quality indicators to increase effectiveness and efficiency in school-based practice

• Published in: Journal of occupational therapy, schools & early intervention schools & early intervention, 2024-07, Vol.17 (3), p.494-509
• Main Authors: Laverdure, Patricia, Swinth, Yvonne
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: competency; outcome measurement; professional reasoning; quality indicators; School-based occupational therapy practice
• ISSN: 1941-1243; 1941-1251
• DOI: 10.1080/19411243.2024.2399394

Effective measures of the quality of services provide transparent and accountable standards to examine and illustrate high-quality care and contributions to client outcomes. They identify priorities for professional development action planning and allow practitioners to detect gaps in knowledge. Drawn from the need to measure and articulate effectiveness and to guide quality improvement efforts, the Quality Indicators of School Practice (QISP) was developed to provide school-based occupational therapy practitioners and collaborators a mechanism to examine occupational therapy practice, consider its contextual meaning, and illustrate the application of the indicators in practice. A rigorous and extended process grounded in content analysis, reflection, and member checking was used to develop the resource. The QISP creates a baseline to strengthen the profession's knowledge of school practice, reduces barriers to evidence implementation, provides meaningful data for practitioner reflection and best practice decision making, and offers occupational therapy and its collaborators a deepened and consistent understanding of what effective and efficacious occupational therapy looks like in school settings.