Interactive Educational Workshops and Follow-up Support: A Strategy to Facilitate Allied Health Clinicians' Routine Measurement of Clinical Outcomes

INTERVENTION: Intervention Group 1) One‐day interactive educational workshop consisting of lectures, small group work and discussion sessions. Content covered included an introduction to outcome measures, setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Activity based, Review, Time frame) goals, the outcome measurement process, strategies to successfully implement outcome measures, information on nine specific outcome measures relevant to people with cerebral palsy and autism and their carers, matching client limitations and outcome measures, and reporting outcome measure results and clinical decision making. 2) Resource folder containing notes from lectures and small group and discussion activities. A summary and critique of the 9 outcome measures presented including information on developers, access to the measure, cost, copyright, a description of the measure, administration, scoring and interpretation, suitable populations, languages the measure has been published in, International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) level/s targetted by the measure, psychometric properties and references. 3) 3 months of email and telephone follow‐up support. All participants in the intervention group receceived 1 group email per week. The purpose of the email was to encourage clinicians to use outcome measures in their daily practise, provide additional information on outcome measures that may be of use to them. The researcher also responded to all individual emails and telephone calls received from participants in the intervention group. CONDITION: Allied health professionals PRIMARY OUTCOME: An audit of 10% of participants’ de‐identified clinical files will be the primary outcome measure for this study. The audit of de‐identified clinical files will be used to measure: ; 1) Change in the frequency of use outcome measures An audit of 10% of participants’ de‐identified clinical files will be the primary outcome measure for this study. The audit of de‐identified clinical files will be used to measure: ; 2) Change in the proportion of participants who measure outcomes An audit of 10% of participants’ de‐identified clinical files will be the primary outcome measure for this study. The audit of de‐identified clinical files will be used to measure: ; 3) Change in the range of outcome measures used by participants SECONDARY OUTCOME: 1) Change in the frequency of use outcome measures 2) Change in the proportion of participants who measure outcomes 3) Change in the range of outcome measures used by participants 4) Change in participants’ knowledge and skills of outcome measurement 5) Participants’ readiness to change their current practice behaviours and measure outcomes will be measured using the Clinician Readiness to Measure Outcomes Scale (developed by the researcher). INCLUSION CRITERIA: 1) Be employed by The Spastic Centre New South Wales; 2) Have professional qualifications (diploma, undergraduate degree or postgraduate degree) in the following allied health disciplines: Occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech pathology, psychology, social work, social welfare or counselling;3) Be of working age