Deck 5: Outcomes Research to Generate Evidence-Based Practice

Question 1

Define outcomes research and identify its purpose.

Answer 1

Outcomes research focuses on the results of a process and evidence of having achieved what one has proposed. In health care research, evidence is sought to support the need and benefit of care.

Question 2

List 3 examples of treatment outcomes.

Answer 2

a. Improved quality of life for a client
b. Client satisfaction with the quality of care
c. Reduced symptoms
d. Minimizing costs or implementing cost efficiencies
e. Effective treatment for various or specific client needs

Question 3

Correctly match "effectiveness" and "efficacy" with the definitive question below and its example.
-"Can it work?"

A) efficacy
B) effectiveness

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Correctly match "effectiveness" and "efficacy" with the definitive question below and its example.
-"Does it work?"

A) efficacy
B) effectiveness

Question 5

Correctly match "effectiveness" and "efficacy" with the definitive question below and its example.
-A study that measures symptom reduction in an art therapy treatment group as compared to a control group

A) efficacy
B) effectiveness

Question 6

Correctly match "effectiveness" and "efficacy" with the definitive question below and its example.
-A study that measures symptom reduction in an art therapy treatment group over time and at various intervals

A) efficacy
B) effectiveness

Question 7

Randomized clinical trials (RCT) provide much needed outcomes evidence for art therapy but they have their limitations. To be generalizable to actual practice, what two conditions are necessary?

A) The participants and settings must be representative of where art therapy programs are found, and the outcomes must be clinically relevant.
B) The primary investigator must be an art therapist and the outcomes must be beneficial to the average art therapy client.
C) The outcome measures taken must be statistically relevant and the treatment protocol must be systematically applied over a sufficient period of time.
D) There must be a large enough number of participants to create two perfectly matched groups and the treatment protocol must meet the needs of a variety of clients in the setting.

Question 8

What four processes would an art therapist apply to a typical art therapy intervention in order to increase its scientific value and formulate the basis of an outcomes study?

Question 9

Single case designs are both criticized and lauded as a method for showing effectiveness. How have researchers improved on their limitations to make them more valid?

A) They use data obtained from in-depth interviews.
B) They randomly assign treatment strategies to measure their effects on the client case.
C) They measure formal elements in the client's artwork and compare them against art obtained from a control group.
D) They specify the intervention and take repeated measures or assessments.

Question 10

An art therapist observes behavioral changes in George, a youth living in a residential treatment facility. Over the 6 weeks of art therapy treatment, George increases his ability to engage in art-making and participate in group projects. What variable can the art therapist infer has produced the observed effect?

A) Art therapy is more effective for youth in residential treatment than other modalities provided.
B) Art therapy is an effective treatment for youth in residential treatment.
C) Art therapy lowered George's anxiety, allowing him to focus and feel safe enough to work with others.
D) Art therapy was more relaxing than other treatment modalities George was required to participate in.

Question 11

An art therapist wants to determine whether art therapy helps reduce confusion among clients who are diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. What treatment-design strategy would be best for her outcomes study?

A) Treatment intensity, in order to measure the effects of early or longer art therapy intervention
B) Treatment versus no treatment, in order to measure the overall quality of the art therapy program
C) Treatment provider comparison, in order to prove that training makes a difference in delivering effective treatment
D) Treatment "a" versus treatment "b," in order to prove that cognitive-behavioral therapy doesn't work with Alzheimer's clients

Question 12

How are "best practices" produced and identified?

A) Outcomes studies are conducted to verify clinical observations and their findings systematically distilled into guidelines to inform practice.
B) Experts in the field document their clinical observations, which are published and used to create guidelines to inform practice.
C) Outcomes studies are systematically ranked by the experts in the field, based what they have clinically observed as significant.
D) Experts in the field are surveyed to find out what practices they are using.

Question 13

Match the following sampling strategies to their purposes.
-Random cases

A) selected for representativeness
B) selected to link a characteristic with an outcome
C) selected to facilitate comparisons
D) selected to obtain in-depth information
E) selected to discern typical and atypical characteristics

Question 14

Match the following sampling strategies to their purposes.
-Criterion sample

A) selected for representativeness
B) selected to link a characteristic with an outcome
C) selected to facilitate comparisons
D) selected to obtain in-depth information
E) selected to discern typical and atypical characteristics

Question 15

Match the following sampling strategies to their purposes.
-Sub-group sample

A) selected for representativeness
B) selected to link a characteristic with an outcome
C) selected to facilitate comparisons
D) selected to obtain in-depth information
E) selected to discern typical and atypical characteristics

Question 16

Match the following sampling strategies to their purposes.
-Purposeful cases

A) selected for representativeness
B) selected to link a characteristic with an outcome
C) selected to facilitate comparisons
D) selected to obtain in-depth information
E) selected to discern typical and atypical characteristics

Question 17

Match the following sampling strategies to their purposes.
-Extreme cases

A) selected for representativeness
B) selected to link a characteristic with an outcome
C) selected to facilitate comparisons
D) selected to obtain in-depth information
E) selected to discern typical and atypical characteristics

Question 18

An art therapist wants to assess whether her art therapy program is achieving its goal of helping teens that are homeless or have run away from home. What is one "indicator of success" she can use as an outcome measure?

A) Increased funding and grant support for the program
B) Increased referrals from local psychiatric hospitals
C) Number of program participants that enrolled in high school or vocational training within six months
D) Number and quality of artwork produced by program participants

Question 19

How does a lack of outcomes research affect client services and funding?

Question 20

Create a conceptual model for an outcomes study by identifying one specific claim made in art therapy, and re-writing it as a measurable effect on a particular treatment condition that can be measured and tested.

Question 21

Develop a specific definition of art therapy treatment for an outcomes study by listing the therapist behaviors that are
a) unique to art therapy,
b) essential but not unique,
c) compatible but not essential or unique, and
d) proscribed or not allowable in art therapy.

Question 22

Demonstrate the basic steps of outcomes research by applying it to an example from your own clinical practice.

Question 23

At the heart of outcomes research is a "clinical model of causation." Reflect on this statement in your journal by thinking through a clinical observation you have made where you believe art therapy caused a specific improvement or effect.

Question 24

Create art images of "before" and "after" art therapy treatment for a client or client group. Use these images to identify what changed and why, and to design an outcomes study from your analysis.

Question 25

Write an "elevator speech" (1 minute persuasive explanation) of "what works and why" for your art therapy program that you could deliver to any audience.

Question 26

Create a "concept map" for an outcomes study that multiplies a clinically significant effect that you have seen in your own practice. The map should address the question "who else needs to know?"