Date of Award

December 2023

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Health Sciences

First Advisor

Roger O Smith

Committee Members

Jennifer Kibicho, Inga Wang, Rochelle Mendonca

Keywords

Aging, Evidence-based interventions, Home safety, Occupational therapy, Perceived Knowledge, Sel-efficacy

Abstract

The growing aging population of the United States urges occupational therapy practitioners to address the population's home safety needs. However, current occupational therapists need more resources and education to conduct comprehensive home safety evaluations. This study employed a pretest-posttest mixed methods design using occupational therapy students (n=17) to investigate the potential of AccessibleHomePRO as an educational intervention to enhance OT student knowledge of home safety assessments, perceived knowledge, which is known as the belief in your level of knowledge, and self-efficacy, which refers to the confidence in completing a task. AccessibleHomePRO (AHP) is a novel multifaceted assessment that leverages artificial intelligence to guide practitioners through a comprehensive evaluation and provides evidence-based interventions and recommendations. This dissertation work incorporated the first-ever home safety course utilizing AHP as an initial step toward enhancing the home safety knowledge of OT students. This study aimed to contribute to the scientific literature within occupational therapy education and practice. Implementing the AHP educational intervention showed potential for enhancing OT students' understanding of home safety assessment knowledge, perceived knowledge, and self-efficacy. Despite the absence of clinical significance, results also demonstrated improvements in test scores across both groups. Notably, fieldwork and home safety experience had some influence on results, albeit within the limitations of a small sample size. The intervention group's clinical and home safety terminology in their case study responses suggests promise. With revisions and a larger sample size, AHP holds the potential as an effective tool for enhancing OT home safety knowledge.

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