Arnold S, McEwen I; University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK. sandra-arnold@ouhsc.edu.

PURPOSE: The purpose of developing the School Outcomes Measure (SOM) was to provide a valid and reliable instrument to collect population data on outcomes of students who receive school-based physical therapy and occupational therapy. FOUNDATION: Physical therapists (PT) and occupational therapists (OT) provide related services to students with disabilities in schools. PT and OT plan and direct individualized student interventions and are responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of their interventions and the outcomes of the students they serve (American Occupational Therapy Association, 1999; American Physical Therapy Association, 2001; Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997; No Child Left Behind Act of 2001). Unfortunately a limited number of outcomes measurement tools exist for children with disabilities and no minimal data sets exist that are specifically designed to collect outcomes data for the population of students with disabilities who receive school-based physical therapy and occupational therapy. Because no minimal data set exists to measure the outcomes of students receiving physical therapy and occupational therapy in the school setting, the School Outcomes Measure (SOM) minimal data set was recently developed by researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center to collect outcomes of this population (McEwen, Arnold, Hansen, & Johnson, 2003). DESCRIPTION: Developers of the SOM have pilot tested the tool and measured preliminary interrater reliability and content validity. Additional methodological testing has included stability and responsiveness to change. The results of the preliminary study support the content validity of the tool and demonstrate substantial agreement within physical therapist-occupational therapist rater pairs. The tool demonstrated a high degree of stability and was responsive to change in the study population. OBSERVATIONS: The SOM is a quick and easy to use tool that collects data on students’ functional abilities, student and therapist demographics, and information about therapy services provided and therapeutic procedures used. Therapists are able to complete the tool within 10 minutes and have not demonstrated difficulty in SOM administration. CONCLUSIONS: The SOM is designed for school-based therapists to collect outcomes data of students who receive physical therapy and occupational therapy. Because no other minimal data set exists for therapists to collect this data, the SOM has potential use as an outcomes measurement tool for collecting and analyzing student data from therapists across the nation. Analysis of collected population data will begin to provide therapists with evidence regarding school-based intervention strategies. Ongoing reliability and validity studies are necessary for validation of the SOM. FUNDING SOURCE: Department of Health and Human Services, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Grant No. 6T18MC00008-03, and a grant from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Graduate Student Association. No material gain.

Copyright 2004 by the American Physical Therapy Association

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