Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any questions or comments, please write to: manon.guay@usherbrooke.ca.

Can I make photocopies of Algo?

Our research indicates that using photocopies is not advisable because the instrument's format (paper type, layout, and artwork) has an impact of user performance. We have priced Algo modestly to cover printing costs and encourage its use.

Do I have to take the training before using Algo?

No, you don't. On the other hand, Algo was tested with health and social-services auxiliaries in eight hours of on-the-job training to familiarize themselves with Algo while working with a clinical occupational therapist in their health and social-services center.

I am a clinical occupational therapist in an HSSC. Can I train non-occupational-therapist personnel to use Algo?

Yes. You should take note, however, that an occupational therapist who trains non-occupational therapists is "responsible for the quality of training content, teaching methods, decision-support tools, and documentation provided to participants" (OEQ, 2008, p. 4) [translation].

I work with non-occupational therapists, but I don't work in an HSSC. Can I still use Algo?

Algo was validated in the Quebec context of home care for individuals coping with a loss of independence. As a result, any occupational therapist who wants to use Algo must take this information into account when selecting instruments for work and those for sharing with non-occupational therapists.

The non-occupational-therapist personnel at my HSSC taking part in selecting bathing equipment are not health and social-services auxiliaries. Can we use Algo?

The inventory of Quebec practices (Guay et al., 2010) brought out that caregivers other than auxiliaries act as non-occupational-therapist personnel in selecting bathing equipment (e.g. nursing assistants, physical-rehabilitation therapists, and social workers). Algo, however, was validated only with auxiliaries, the caregivers most often called on to play this role in HSSCs. Considering that auxiliaries have the least amount of initial training, Algo is probably also valid for other team members. Implementation should therefore take into account this limitation and that there is no evidence of reliability, which is commonly required for the evidence of validity of measuring instruments.

Does non-occupational-therapist personnel such as health and social-services auxiliaries taking part in selecting bathing equipment have to had taken the PDSB training provided by ASSTSAS in order to use Algo?

Although certain HSSCs require auxiliaries involved in selecting bathing equipment to be trainers in the principles of safe handling and movement of beneficiaries (PDSB), the auxiliaries who took part in validating Algo were not. We should point out that Algo is used with clients who may or may not receive hygiene assistance from a natural caregiver or an auxiliary. Consequently, when Algo was being developed, we considered that the client-centered Canadian Model of Occupational Performance and Engagement (CMOP-E) (Townsend and Polatajko, 2008) was deemed more relevant as a model than the overall approach to work based on the PDSB training program (ASSTSAS, 2004). Indeed, the theoretical model taught by the Association paritaire pour la santé et la sécurité du travail du secteur affaires sociales (ASSTSAS) is based on ergonomic theoretical considerations (Berthelette, D., Leduc, N., Bilodeau, H., Durand, M.-J., Faye, C., Loignon, C. et al., 2006; Guérin, Laville, Daniellou, Duraffourg, and Kerguelen, 2001) and aims at making the auxiliary's working environment safe (bathroom). From a theoretical standpoint, this model cannot be applied across the board to all HSSC clients asking for advice about bathroom safety, whether or not they receive assistance from an HSSC worker. Algo, based on the CMOP-E, takes into account client preferences, capacities, and environment.

In training non-OT personnel in Algo use, are the OTs still responsible for the cases assigned to non-OT personnel? In other words, I mean, if an auxiliary assesses a straightforward bathing case in the home (depending on the target group), will the client's name still appear in my caseload or not?

Our team did not study the issue of occupational-therapy record keeping when non-occupational therapy personnel are involved in service delivery. Nevertheless, two documents published by the Quebec Order of Occupational Therapists deal with this concept: Participation du personnel non-ergothérapeute lors de la prestation des services d'ergothérapie - Lignes directrices (2005) and Référentiel de compétences lié à l'exercice de la profession d'ergothérapeute au Québec (2011). In our opinion, the answer to this question is influenced by the service-organization model implemented by the HSSC. Can non-occupational-therapist personnel intervene within the framework of occupational-therapy services (left model in OEQ figure 3) or concomitant to an occupational-therapy request (model on the right of OEQ figure 3)? Lastly, the article entitled "Enjeux entourant le recours au personnel auxiliaire en ergothérapie" (Guay, 2012), published in the Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, offers avenues that can be explored.