حسین گریوانی

The global demand for assistive technology (AT) is extensive, with over 2.5 billion people requiring one or more assistive devices. This number is expected to increase to 3.5 billion by 2050. AT empowers individuals to enjoy a healthy, productive, and independent life. It has become a global priority, recognizing the importance of improving access to AT for those in need. Accurate measurement of the demand and accessibility of these technologies is crucial for effective action in this area. The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed the rapid assistive technology assessment tool (rATA) to address this need. This tool serves to measure the utilization and requirement of AT among populations. This study aims to introduce and explain the steps taken to translate the rATA tool and examine its face validity in Iran. 

After receiving authorization from WHO, the English version of rATA was translated into Persian by two proficient experts in rehabilitation. Subsequently, a backward translation was conducted by two experts who were fluent in both Persian and English. Following a consensus on the resulting version, an expert panel comprising seven professionals in rehabilitation and health was established to validate the face validity of the Persian version. Necessary modifications were implemented based on their feedback and approval.

The Persian version of the rATA consists of seven sections and 42 questions. These sections include preliminary information/administrative survey data, demographics, AT need assessment, supply and demand, satisfaction, recommendations, surveyor’s comments, and post-survey administration. As per the expert committee’s decision, an additional question was incorporated into the preliminary information section, and the answer choices now include an option for further AT providers.

The Persian version of the rATA serves as a valuable tool for gathering data on the demand and accessibility of AT within the Iranian context. These data can aid decision-makers and policymakers in devising strategies to enhance access to AT, ultimately contributing to the goal of achieving universal health coverage. Furthermore, due to its potential for global applicability, the rATA questionnaire can be utilized for inter-country comparisons, providing insights into Iran’s status regarding access to AT. Additionally, it can serve as a reliable platform for policy learning, facilitating the exchange of reliable and evidence-based policies among different countries.

 Family-centered services are collections for children with special needs and their families. These services consider families as expert about childrenchr('39')s needs. The essence of this approach is involvement of family in decision making, cooperation, and mutual communication (family and therapist), mutual respect, acceptance of family choice, family support, flexibility of service, and effort to empower families. These services have become a basic foundation of many early intervention programs and are especially useful in rehabilitation services. MPOC-20 is one of the questionnaires used to evaluate these services. This questionnaire consists 20 questions divided into 5 areas, the areas include the following: 1) enabling and partnership, 2) providing general information, 3) providing specific information about the child, 4) coordinated and comprehensive care for child and family, and 5) respectful and supportive care. This tool has been translated and validated in several countries and specifically in several diseases. In this study, the validity and reliability of this tool have been investigated.

 This study was a descriptive-analytical and in order to measure the validity and reliability of MPOC-20, content validity, correlation coefficient and reliability of the test-retest were done. To determine the content validity, 14 occupational therapists were asked and the result was calculated by measuring the content validity index and content validity Ratio. Then, an MPOC-20 questionnaire along with a form of demographic information and a consent form were given to 340 parents of children (children under 18 years and with different diagnosis) in clinics of Tehran. The articipants consisted of 142 girls patients (42%) and 198 boys (58%) randomly selected from public and private rehabilitation centers in different regions of Tehran. A large percentage of respondents were mothers (314 people were 92.4%). After 2 weeks, the questionnaire was again distributed among 30 of them, and the ICC coefficients were calculated. In order to determine the internal consistency, Cronbachchr('39')s alpha was calculated.

 The content validity index and content validity Ratio for all items were acceptable and no items were deleted. Cronbachchr('39')s alpha was 0.81 which indicates a high correlation between items in the questionnaire. The highest Cronbachchr('39')s alpha coefficient is related to the field of providing general information about the child (α=0.77). Also, in this section, the p-value was significant for all fields at the level of 0.001. In the reliability of the test-retest, the scores of the Intra-class correlation coefficient of all domains were higher than 0/6 which indicates a medium to good reliability of the questionnaire. Reliability in the field of supportive care had a high coefficient and good reliability. In other areas, the reliability was moderate.

 Considering the importance of evaluation in improvement of family-centered services provision, a strong tool is needed and MPOC-20 is well known in this regard. The results of this study showed that the Persian version of "MPOC-20" questionnaire has a good validity and reliability in children under the age of 18, and it can be used to assess family-centered services in both research studies and as clinical tool.

One of the goals of clinical education is providing students with sufficient opportunity to develop the necessary professional competences, which requires constant assessment of the existing situation, recognition of strengths and correction of weaknesses. This study aimed to evaluate and identify the individual and professional features effective in clinical education in the field of speech therapy.
This study, based on the paradigm of qualitative content analysis, was conducted on 13 students, 6 instructors and 6 speech therapists, who were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using in-depth and semi-structured interviews and group discussions. In addition, data analysis was carried out applying the Colaizzi's method.
Individual and professional features of individuals involved in clinical practice were recognized as factors affecting the quality of clinical education in speech therapy. Leaning motivation and background knowledge were recognized as effective features related to students, whereas feedback provision and clinical experience were identified for clinical instructors. Moreover, accountability of clients was an effective factor in this regard.
According to the results of the study, individual and professional features can affect the quality of clinical education in speech therapy. Mostly, the role of clinical instructors was emphasized by interviewees, who recognized the motivation, experience and knowledge of clinical instructors as the important factors for successful clinical education.