Measuring Cultural Effectiveness in Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy: A Scoping Review.

Importance: Promoting culturally effective care is a pressing matter for occupational therapy and physical therapy practitioners. Despite the recent advancements, how cultural effectiveness is measured in the rehabilitation context remains elusive. Objective: To characterize the instruments used to...

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Published in:American Journal of Occupational Therapy Vol. 79; no. 6; pp. 1 - 11
Main Authors: Shin, Julia, Bekmuratova, Sarbinaz, Nesbit, Jamie, Han, Inhyun, Tung, Allison, Ortiz, Jordan, Wright, Tyler, Chamoun, Sarah, Bergjord, Judith
Format: research tables/charts Journal Article
Published: American Occupational Therapy Association Nov/Dec2025
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Nov/Dec2025
      vid: 79
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      pub: American Occupational Therapy Association
      place: North Bethesda, Maryland
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        atl: Measuring Cultural Effectiveness in Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy: A Scoping Review.
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          Shin, Julia
          Bekmuratova, Sarbinaz
          Nesbit, Jamie
          Han, Inhyun
          Tung, Allison
          Ortiz, Jordan
          Wright, Tyler
          Chamoun, Sarah
          Bergjord, Judith
        affil: Julia Shin, EdD, MS, OTR/L, BCP, is Assistant Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Pharmacy and Health Professions, Creighton University, Omaha, NE
      sug:
        subj:
          Occupational Therapy
          Physical Therapy
          Cultural Competence Evaluation
          Questionnaires
          Cultural Diversity
          Health Care Delivery
          Occupational Therapists
          Physical Therapists
          Human
          Male
          Female
          Scoping Review
          CINAHL Database
          Medline
          Psycinfo
          Descriptive Statistics
          Self-Awareness
          Patient Centered Care
          Students, Physical Therapy
          Students, Occupational Therapy
          Cultural Sensitivity
          Professional-Client Relations
          Social Justice
          Male
          Female
      ab: Importance: Promoting culturally effective care is a pressing matter for occupational therapy and physical therapy practitioners. Despite the recent advancements, how cultural effectiveness is measured in the rehabilitation context remains elusive. Objective: To characterize the instruments used to assess cultural effectiveness in the recent occupational therapy and physical therapy literature. Data Sources: Database searches were conducted in Academic Search Premier, CINAHL, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO. Additional hand searches were performed of key articles and textbooks. Study Selection and Data Collection: Included articles were (1) published in English in the United States between January 2010 and June 2022, (2) peer reviewed, and (3) methodologically examined or included outcome measures that assessed cultural effectiveness in occupational therapy and physical therapy contexts. Findings: Seven articles met the inclusion criteria, and six distinct instruments were identified. All of the assessments were self-administered and varied in theoretical foundation, conceptualization, and operationalization. The three most common cultural domains were attitude, knowledge, and skills. Of 249 items pooled across the instruments, only one assessed a provider's ability to engage in continuous critical reflection. Conclusions and Relevance: The inconsistencies observed in measuring cultural effectiveness may limit advancement and translation of knowledge in occupational therapy and physical therapy. In addition to the need for client-administered assessments, further research is warranted to explore how self-reflection can catalyze the lifelong process of becoming culturally effective. Plain-Language Summary: Grounded in the Cultural Effectiveness Model, this study identified assessments that can be used by occupational therapy and physical therapy practitioners to measure and monitor their cultural effectiveness. This review identifies assessments that can be used by occupational therapy practitioners to measure and monitor their cultural effectiveness.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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