The Assessment of Motor and Process Skills: An Evaluation of the Impact of Training on Service Delivery

Abstract

Thirty-six occupational therapists that completed a training course on the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS), held in the West Midlands, took part in a follow-up evaluation. This examined the effectiveness of the AMPS training on the occupational therapy service delivery. Twenty-eight structured interviews were carried out with occupational therapists from the West Midlands region and eight postal questionnaires returned from occupational therapists outside the region. The outcome indicated that observation skills had improved and that the AMPS was an appropriate tool to use for the purposes of assessment, guiding intervention and measuring outcomes of occupational therapy. There were variations in the ease with which the AMPS was administered with different client groups, but 89% of the occupational therapists were still using the AMPS at 9 months following training across a range of services. The main difficulties encountered were a lack of access to a computer and the additional support needed for the AMPS to be fully integrated into clinical practice. The adaptability of the AMPS as a standardised assessment and outcome measure makes it a good choice of tool to use across an occupational therapy service. The effects of the AMPS training on such a service are discussed, with recommendations for managers planning the distribution of limited training budgets and the implications for service development needs.