A family-specific use of the Measure of Processes of Care for Service Providers (MPOC-SP)

• Published in: Clinical rehabilitation Vol. 22; no. 3; pp. 242 - 251
• Main Authors: Siebes, RC, Nijhuis, BJG, Boonstra, AM, Ketelaar, M., Wijnroks, L., Reinders-Messelink, HA, Postema, K., Vermeer, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.03.2008; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Attitude of Health Personnel; Cerebral palsy; Cerebral Palsy - rehabilitation; Child; Child, Preschool; Children & youth; Disabled Children - rehabilitation; Families & family life; Family Health; Female; Humans; Male; Netherlands; Parents & parenting; Patient Care Team; Pediatrics; Process Assessment (Health Care) - methods; Professional-Family Relations; Professionals; Quality improvement; Rehabilitation; Rehabilitation Centers - organization & administration; Rehabilitation Centers - standards; Reproducibility of Results; Special education; Surveys and Questionnaires; Validation studies; Validity; Netherlands
• ISSN: 0269-2155; 1477-0873
• DOI: 10.1177/0269215507081568

Objective: To examine the validity and utility of the Dutch Measure of Processes of Care for Service Providers (MPOC-SP) as a family-specific measure. Design: A validation study. Setting: Five paediatric rehabilitation settings in the Netherlands. Main measures: The MPOC-SP was utilized in a general (reflecting on services provided for all clients and clients' families) and family-specific way (filled out in reference to a particular child and his or her family). Subjects: Professionals providing rehabilitation and educational services to children with cerebral palsy. Methods: For construct validity, Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficients (r ) between the scales were calculated. The ability of service providers to discriminate between general and family-specific ratings was examined by exploration of absolute difference scores. Results: One hundred and sixteen service professionals filled out 240 family-specific MPOC-SPs. In addition, a subgroup of 81 professionals filled out a general MPOC-SP. For each professional, family-specific and general scores were paired, resulting in 151 general—family-specific MPOC-SP pairs. The construct validity analyses confirmed the scale structure: 21 items (77.8%) loaded highest in the original MPOC-SP factors, and all items correlated best and significantly with their own scale score (r 0.565 to 0.897; P<0.001). Intercorrelations between the scales ranged from r = 0.159 to r = 0.522. In total, 94.4% of the mean absolute difference scores between general and family-specific scale scores were larger than the expected difference. Conclusion: Service providers were able to discriminate between general and family-specific MPOC-SP item ratings. The family-specific MPOC-SP is a valid measure that can be used for individual evaluation of family-centred services and can be the impetus for family-related quality improvement.