Adopting the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills into Practice: Therapists' Voices

A qualitative study was undertaken to explore occupational therapists' experiences following a continuing professional education course to learn how to use the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS). This paper describes the challenges and barriers they faced when adopting it within existing professional practice. Twenty-two occupational therapists from 16 National Health Service trusts across the United Kingdom who had attended an AMPS course took part in a series of three semi-structured interviews over a 9-month period. The data were analysed inductively; six themes and a number of subthemes emerged.

Three themes are explored in this paper: adopting the AMPS into professional practice, the diffusion of innovation and the embedding of new skills in clinical teams. Using the voices of the participants in the study, the findings explore some of the barriers to learning new skills and to utilising them within workplace teams. Overall, the therapists were able to overcome these barriers if they had sufficient personal motivation and workplace support from either their manager or the clinical team.

The spread of a new idea and its adoption into current practice are complex and affected by many factors. Research evidence alone may not be enough to persuade individuals and teams to change: additional resources of leadership, skills and time also appear essential to success.