Intervention effectiveness for children and youth

Abstract

We reviewed 11 articles, including efficacy and effectiveness studies, addressing intervention effectiveness for children and youth published in 2012 in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy and organized them by level and type of research according to a framework adapted from the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Compared with articles published in previous years, these studies showed improvement in their ability to guide practitioners to make evidence-based decisions by increasing understanding of the intervention's pragmatic relevance and the extent to which it promotes participation in childhood and adolescent occupations. Studies' evidence levels have increased along with efforts to increase scientific rigor. Intervention fidelity was included in several of the studies, but not consistently. Siblings and other family members were not examined, and none of the articles reviewed described longitudinal studies. Measures of client acceptability and cost-benefit analysis need more attention in future studies.