Responsiveness of Life Participation for Parents (LPP^®): A Tool for Family-Centered Rehabilitation

Abstract

Aims: The Life Participation for Parents (LPP^®) is a Quality of Life assessment designed to measure family-centered practice outcomes. Previous studies of the LPP have established its internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = .85), test–retest reliability (r = .89), construct validity, and concurrent validity. This study examined the responsiveness of the LPP, hypothesizing change scores after 3 months of intervention would exceed that explained by standard error. Methods: Thirty-two parents of children with disabilities completed the LPP to identify family-centered issues. The LPP was completed a second time after 3 months of intervention. Wilcoxon Signed Rank test was used to compare the median differences between two administrations. Minimal clinically important differences (MCID) were calculated for the total and two LPP subscales (efficiency and effectiveness). Cohen’s effect size was calculated using the standardized response mean (SRM) to quantify the change. Results: The age range of the parents was 31–50 (72%), including 31 mothers (96.9%). Median differences between the two administrations were significantly different (p < .05). The MCID were 11.34, 9.82, and 4.48; the SRM were 0.42, 0.54, and 0.04, for the LPP total score, efficiency subscale and effectiveness subscale, respectively. Conclusions: The LPP is responsive to detect a change larger than measurement error in parental ability of participating in life occupations while raising a child with disabilities.

Keywords:

• Family functioning
• psychometric testing
• quality of life

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the time and effort of the parents and therapists who participated in this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interests was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Patricia E. Fingerhut

Patricia E. Fingerhut, PhD, OTR is the Robert K. Bing Distinguished Professor, Associate Professor and Chair in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the UTMB School of Health Professions. Before joining the UTMB academic program, she practiced for twenty-five years, primarily in pediatrics, both in the US and Canada. Research interests include pediatrics, neurology, educational scholarship, and family centered practice. In 2005, she developed the Life Participation for Parents (LPP) to evaluate and measure outcomes in family-centered practice. The LPP has been used in clinical practice and research and has been translated into five languages.

Elaina J. DaLomba

Elaina J. DaLomba, PhD, OTR/L, MSW is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at Samuel Merritt University in Oakland, CA. Dr. DaLomba's research interests are in young children and families, military families, occupational therapy teaching and learning processes, and Occupational Adaptation. She has published peer reviewed papers and presented at local, national, and international conferences in these areas. She is the current Quarterly Editor for the American Occupational Therapy Associations's Developmental Disabilities Special Interest Section.

Chih-Ying Li

Chih-Ying Li, PhD OTR, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). Dr. Li is also an Associate Scholar of the Translational Research Scholars Program and a core faculty of the Center for Recovery, Physical Activity and Nutrition at UTMB. Dr. Li conducts health services research with a focus on disability, post-acute care, hospital readmission, successful community discharge and functional outcomes measurements in rehabilitation. Dr. Li received UTMB Claude Pepper Older Americans Independence Center Pilot Grant Award in 2017 and currently published 24 peer-reviewed journal articles, with 45 poster and 15 oral presentations in local and international conferences.