Evaluation of an Interview Process for Admission into an Occupational Therapy Program

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Psychometrics
• Occupational Therapy Admissions

Background:

• Graduate admissions interviews assess non-cognitive attributes and applicant suitability.
• Psychometric evidence for graduate admissions interviews is inconsistent.
• Occupational therapy programs utilize interviews in their admissions processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the psychometric properties of a specific group interview process for occupational therapy program admission.
• To assess interrater reliability and predictive validity of the interview process.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective data analysis using intraclass correlation for interrater reliability.
• Correlation of interview scores with the RAND Social Health Battery for predictive validity.
• One-way ANOVA to identify differences between individual interviewers.

Main Results:

• Strong correlation found between specific interviewers, indicating interrater reliability.
• Significant differences observed between individual interviewers.
• No significant correlation between interview scores and the RAND Social Health Battery social participation measures.

Conclusions:

• While interrater reliability was established, individual rater variability exists.
• The group interview's validity for predicting social participation was not supported.
• Programs should rigorously evaluate interrater reliability and clearly define interview constructs.