Systematic Assessment of Caregiving Skill Performance by Individuals with Tetraplegia and Their Caregivers
Abstract
The objective of the proposed study is to create an assessment tool for use by clinicians during inpatient rehabilitation to systematically evaluate and describe competence in self-direction of care and caregiving skills. Analysis of focus group data has revealed a number of themes about care direction/caregiving in general as well as specific recommendations for the assessment tool. Participants expressed that successful care director/caregiver interactions require self-awareness, self-advocacy, ability to communicate ones needs clearly and respectfully, knowledge of and ability to convey why tasks must be done a certain way and engagement and cooperation of both parties. Suggestions for the assessment tool included (1)allowing caregiver performance and care director performance to be scored separately and as a team; (2) rating skills in broad functional categories to avoid excessive detail; (3) assessing behavior over a period of time rather than at a single point in time; (4) involving multiple disciplines in scoring; (5) including safety of skill performance (a key criterion for determining readiness for discharge) in the scoring system. An assessment tool (Teaching Effective Assistance Management or TEAM Tool) and accompanying instruction guide have been created and are currently being piloted. This work will contribute to the process of enabling people with tetraplegia to live healthy and successful lives in the community.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2015
- Accession Number
- AD1024708
Entities
People
- Jeanne M. Zanca