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THE DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF THE SEATING AND MOBILITY SCRIPT CONCORDANCE TEST (SMSCT)

Cohen, Laura J. (2003) THE DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF THE SEATING AND MOBILITY SCRIPT CONCORDANCE TEST (SMSCT). Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Although participation in continuing education activities is the most widely accepted method of upgrading professional training in the area of seating and mobility, the impact of these educational experiences has yet to be documented. Specifically, reliable and valid measures of the outcomes of educational experiences or clinical practice on the ability to make specialized clinical decisions are needed. This dissertation is comprised of a series of three, inter-related studies, which, develop and validate the Seating and Mobility Script Concordance Test (SMSCT); a performance-based measure intended for use with professionals that recommend seating and mobility devices to individuals with spinal cord injuries. The SMSCT is designed to assess clinicians by examining the organization of their knowledge, associations between items of their knowledge, and adequacy of their clinical decisions compared to expert consensus. The first study presents the conceptual foundation, item generation process, and content validity evidence leading to the final version of the SMSCT. Results indicate that the 67-item SMSCT adequately represents the dimensions of assessment and intervention knowledge for seating and mobility for spinal cord injury. In the second study, 15 spinal cord injury experts assisted with the development of the scoring system, and 100 physical and occupational therapists were used for obtaining internal and external validity evidence. Appraisal of the technical quality of the test showed reasonable item performance, with some items performing better than others. Other evidence showed the SMSCT distinguished between intervention subscores for two groups of known differences. Proxy measures of clinical expertise on the whole did not prove to be strong predictors of SMSCT scores for a population of clinicians with varying amounts of seating and mobility experience. The third study, comprised of 50 seating and mobility clinicians, further explored the validity of the SMSCT as a measure of educational effectiveness. No one proxy measure of clinical expertise accounted for a considerable change in posttest scores following an educational program. Changes in SMSCT scores were detected following an educational program. Initial psychometric testing maintains that the SMSCT is a promising measure of seating and mobility clinical expertise. Further SMSCT development, revision and validation are needed.


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Details

Item Type: University of Pittsburgh ETD
Status: Unpublished
Creators/Authors:
CreatorsEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Cohen, Laura J.ljcst22@pitt.eduLJCST22
ETD Committee:
TitleMemberEmail AddressPitt UsernameORCID
Committee CoChairBoninger, Michaelmlboning@pitt.eduMLBONING
Committee CoChairFitzgerald, Shirleysgf9@pitt.eduSGF9
Committee MemberMinkel, Jeanjminkel@aol.com
Committee MemberMcCue, Michaelmmccue@pitt.eduMMCCUE
Committee MemberLane, Suzannesl@pitt.eduSL
Date: 10 December 2003
Date Type: Completion
Defense Date: 21 November 2003
Approval Date: 10 December 2003
Submission Date: 2 December 2003
Access Restriction: No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately.
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Schools and Programs: School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences > Rehabilitation Science
Degree: PhD - Doctor of Philosophy
Thesis Type: Doctoral Dissertation
Refereed: Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords: clinical competence; educational measurement; Professional practice; rehabilitation; seating and mobility; validity evidence
Other ID: http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-12022003-164844/, etd-12022003-164844
Date Deposited: 10 Nov 2011 20:07
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2016 13:52
URI: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/9941

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