6533b85cfe1ef96bd12bca41

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Individualizing Standardized Tests

Astrid BerglandSandra TorresÅShild SlettebøKariann Krohne

subject

AdultMalemedicine.medical_specialtyEvidence-based practiceinterviewsStandardizationIndividualityStandardized testSocial EnvironmentJudgmentYoung AdultOccupational TherapyNursingrelationship health careHealth careHumansMedicineGeriatric AssessmentCompetence (human resources)Physical Therapy Modalitieshealth care economics and organizationsAgedGeriatricsNorwaybusiness.industryCommunicationHealth carePublic Health Environmental and Occupational HealthPatient PreferenceProfessional-Patient RelationsEvidence-based practiceHealth care professionalsTest (assessment)HospitalizationObservational Studies as TopicGeriatricsrestrictVDP::Medisinske Fag: 700::Helsefag: 800::Sykepleievitenskap: 808FemaleRelationshipsOlder peoplebusinesshuman activities

description

Author's version of an article in the journal: Qualitative Health Research. Also available from the publisher at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1049732313499073 In assessing geriatric patients' functional status, health care professionals use a number of standardized tests. These tests have defined administration procedures that restrict communication and interaction with patients. In this article, we explore the experiences of occupational therapists and physiotherapists acting as standardized test administrators. Drawing on fieldwork, interviews with physiotherapists and occupational therapists, and observations of test situations on acute geriatric wards, we suggest that the test situation generates a tension between what standardization demands and what individualization requires. Our findings illustrate how physiotherapists and occupational therapists navigate between adherence to the test standard and meeting what they consider to be the individual patient's needs in the test situation. We problematize this navigation, and argue that the health care professional's use of relational competence is the means to reach and maintain individualization.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2013-01-01Qualitative Health Research
https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732313499073