A Call to Shift to Competency-Based Education.

This column explores the concept of competency-based education (CBE). A shift to CBE is a key trend for the future of health care education. Health care professions that have adopted, or started to adopt, a CBE framework include physical therapy, speech-language pathology, social work, medicine, nursing, pharmacology, and dentistry. Internationally, many occupational therapy programs are in the process of shifting to, or have shifted to, a CBE model. This column discusses how although select occupational therapy programs in the United States may individually be considering shifting to, or have shifted to, a CBE framework, there is no national movement to explore adopting the model for occupational therapy or a consensus on defined outcomes for the profession.

The Role of Religion in the Recovery from Alcohol and Substance Abuse Among Jordanian Adults.

The purpose of this study is to understand religious factors role during recovery period among Jordanian receiving treatment for alcohol and substances abuse. Participants were asked to answer open-ended questions related to role of religion on their recovery from alcohol and substances abuse. Content analysis was used to explore the role of religion on their recovery process. One hundred and forty-six clients from two treatment centers participated with two main themes that emerged from the analysis: role of religion and role of religious men. Religion not only helps during the recovery process, but also is considered as a protector from drug and alcohol abuse in the future.

Psychometric properties of the Arab Heritage Activity Card Sort.

The Activity Card Sort is a valid and reliable assessment tool that was created to assess Participation. It has been translated to several languages and adapted to different international cultures. The most recent version of this tool is the Arabic Heritage Activity Card Sort (A-ACS). The purpose of this study was to establish the psychometric properties of the new Arabic version in Jordanian adults. Forty three Jordanian patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and 62 healthy adults were recruited to test the psychometric properties of the tool. The A-ACS correlated moderately with the participation index of the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory (r = -0.458, p < 0.00) (concurrent validity), was able to discriminate between patients and healthy participants on the current and retained levels of participation (F = 5.09, p < 0.03; F = 6.01, p < 0.02, respectively) (discriminative validity), and correlated moderately with the total scores of the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory (r = -0.458, p < 0.00) and the total score on the Arabic version of the self-report Performance Assessment of Self-care Skills (r = 0.581, p < 0.00) (convergent validity). The tool also showed good test-retest reliability (r = 0.80, p < 0.00) and excellent internal consistency (α = 0.90). The Arabic Heritage of the Activity Card Sort is a valid and reliable tool for Arabic-speaking occupational therapists to use when assessing participation in Jordanian patients with MS or healthy adults. Limitations of this study include using only one diagnostic group from Jordan and examining only the Recovery and Community Versions of the tool. Future studies are needed to examine further psychometric properties for patients with different diagnoses and from different countries in the Arabic region for all three versions of the A-ACS.

The Arabic version of the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory 4: a validation study.

The Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory 4 (MPAI-4) is a valid and reliable assessment tool to detect clinical impairments in patients with acquired brain injury. The tool is widely used by rehabilitation therapists worldwide, given its good psychometric properties and its availability in several languages. The purpose of this study was to translate the tool into Arabic and to examine its validity and reliability with multiple sclerosis and stroke patients. A total of 128 participants were enrolled in this study: 49 with multiple sclerosis, 17 with stroke, and 62 healthy adults. The psychometric properties of discriminative and convergent construct validity as well as test-retest reliability were tested. The translated tool, the Arabic-MPAI-4 (A-MPAI-4), significantly discriminated among the three subgroups (F=50.93, P<0.001), correlated moderately but significantly with the Arabic version of the Performance Assessment of Self-Care Skills Self-Report as a measure of functional independence in daily activities (r=-0.35, P<0.001), and showed good stability over time (r=0.73, P<0.001). The A-MPAI-4 is a valid and reliable tool for clinical use with multiple sclerosis and stroke patients who speak Arabic.

Environmental factors affecting the daily functioning of jordanian individuals with multiple sclerosis.

Occupational therapists must consider the hindering and facilitating effects of the environment on patients' functional performance when planning therapeutic interventions. The purpose of this study was to explore environmental factors that hinder, and available services that facilitate, the daily functioning of Jordanian individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) as perceived by the patients themselves. A sample of 103 Jordanian individuals with MS completed a questionnaire on hindering environmental factors and facilitative services. Factors and services were identified according to their description in the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Environmental factors that were reported by the participants to be most hindering to their daily functioning were stores and malls (74.2%), noise (87.1%), attitudes of immediate family (52.0%), and government policies and regulations (52.2%). Moreover, the participants reported that psychological services were the least available facilitative services in the community (83.8%). Weak-to-moderate but significant correlations were found between a number of demographic variables and perceived hindering factors. The study results indicate that hindering factors, facilitative services, and demographic variables should be given greater attention by rehabilitation practitioners (especially occupational therapists) when planning intervention programs for Jordanian individuals with MS.

Factors influencing job satisfaction among Jordanian occupational therapists: a qualitative study.

PURPOSE: The main purpose of this study was to explore factors influencing job satisfaction and dissatisfaction among Jordanian occupational therapists. METHODS: Ours was an explorative qualitative study involving the use of structured open-ended written questions. Participants were asked to answer in narrative their perception about the factors behind their job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. In addition, they were asked to express their suggestions, ideas, or solutions for increasing job satisfaction. RESULTS: Ninety-three occupational therapists responded to the survey. For job satisfaction questions, four themes emerged: a humanistic profession; professional issues; work benefits; and work environment. Participant's comments at the end of the survey revealed one general theme for improving job satisfaction, 'a call for improvement'. DISCUSSION: This qualitative study revealed that the humanistic nature of occupational therapist was counterbalanced by several dissatisfying factors for occupational therapy practitioners in Jordan. The need for better supported working conditions in terms of financial rewards, recognition, awareness and resources as well as public and professional recognition of occupational therapists are needed to enhance the occupational therapy profile in Jordan. A comprehensive collaboration is highly needed between the individual practitioners, representatives of the profession, government and hospital administrators.

Development of the Arab heritage Activity Card Sort.

Participation is an indicator of healthy functioning and well-being, as emphasized by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (World Health Organization, 2001). The Activity Card Sort (ACS) is a valid and reliable assessment tool that measures participation. This study describes the process of developing the Arab heritage version of the ACS (A-ACS). The original ACS was translated to Arabic using World Health Organization forward-backward translation guidelines, and activities that are common in Arab cultures were nominated using the ACS investigators' guidelines. Participant respondents were 156 Jordanians, from different age groups and socioeconomic classes. The process initially yielded 179 activities common to all international versions of the ACS, 19 of which were unique to the Arab culture. Eighty-eight items were validated for the A-ACS. The A-ACS validated in this study is the first assessment tool, for Arab adults whose heritage is in the Middle-East and North Africa, that measures participation. We expect the tool to have excellent clinical utility not only in Arab countries, but also for immigrants and citizens of Arab origins worldwide.

Working conditions of occupational therapists in Jordan.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the working conditions and factors related to job satisfaction among Jordanian occupational therapists. A self-administered survey consisting of several questions about the participants' jobs was developed for this study. The inclusion criteria included occupational therapists who worked in the field of occupational therapy (OT) in Jordan and who had at least six months of experience. The survey was distributed to 120 occupational therapists in different OT settings. One hundred and one occupational therapists from different hospitals, centres, schools and universities responded to the survey. Salaries of the participants were low in comparison with the salaries of the rest of healthcare practitioners in Jordan. Chi-square analysis revealed significant relationship between participants' perceived job satisfaction and the administration of the setting, and between the choice of studying OT and the salary that the participant makes. Most occupational therapists in Jordan are young, have modest experience and work in general OT services in government-owned facilities or paediatric centres. A sense of dissatisfaction was obvious among the participants. Further studies are needed to explore reasons of work satisfaction and dissatisfaction among occupational therapists in Jordan.