Validation of the measure of processes of care for use when there is no child development centre
- Authors:
- McCONACHIE H., LOGAN S.
- Journal article citation:
- Child: Care, Health and Development, 29(1), January 2003, pp.35-45.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Clinical governance requires measurement of health care outcomes. The Measure of Processes of Care (MPOC) is a postal questionnaire developed in Canada to reflect parents’ perceptions of the quality of services received. Examines the MPOC's usefulness for service evaluation for children with disabilities and their families. The MPOC was revised minimally for British idiom, taking out explicit references to a ‘Centre’. Surveys of parents using child disability services were carried out in 3 rural and 2 urban communities, where there are no child development centres, with a total of 495 analysable questionnaires returned. In addition, 32 parents using a home nursing service for children with multiple disabilities completed questionnaires. The return rate ranged from 49% to 67%. Factor analysis confirmed a 5-factor solution but only one factor mapped clearly onto the Canadian structure. Using the revised structure, the surveys provide evidence of the discriminating potential of the MPOC, comparing the perceptions of parents who do or do not have a care co-ordinator, and comparing recipients of a home nursing service with matched users of general services. The MPOC can be used as a measure of outcome for child disability services of differing organisational structures.
- Subject terms:
- outcomes, physical disabilities, child development, children;
- Content type:
- research
- Link:
- Journal home page
- ISSN online:
- 1365-2214
- ISSN print:
- 0305-1862