Piloting a points-based caseload measure for community based paediatric occupational and physiotherapists

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Therapy
• Occupational Therapy
• Physical Therapy

Background:

• Workload management and caseload guidelines are critical for retaining paediatric rehabilitation therapists.
• Effective management strategies are needed to support therapist recruitment and retention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and pilot a novel points-based caseload questionnaire.
• To assess the utility of this measure for paediatric occupational therapists and physiotherapists.

Main Methods:

• Therapists completed a pilot caseload measure.
• Qualitative data were gathered through teleconference focus groups.
• Analysis involved descriptive and qualitative methods.

Main Results:

• Caseload point size correlated with therapist experience, perceived manageability, and client characteristics.
• Focus groups favored a points system over numerical counts for caseload measurement.
• Participants suggested improvements for ease of use and consistency.

Conclusions:

• The points-based caseload measure demonstrates potential for standardizing paediatric rehabilitation workloads.
• The tool can be utilized for inter-agency standardization and individual therapist self-reflection.
• Further research is recommended to refine and validate the measure.