Measuring Occupational Performance: Supporting Best Practice in Occupational Therapy

Authored by three preeminent leaders in the field of occupational therapy, Measuring Occupational Performance provides a comprehensive approach to assessing occupational performance. This text begins with a background of measurement concepts and issues and explores the central theoretical concept of occupational therapy, occupation, and occupational performance outcomes facilitated by person-environment-occupation. The key actions that occupational therapists must implement when conducting assessments, reporting findings, and interpreting measurement information for intervention planning are outlined. These actions enable occupational therapists to take advantage of wisdom from other disciplines, create an organized approach, and provide a framework for best practice by taking an occupation-centered, evidence-based approach to measurement.

Measurement in the context of a client-centered approach is a central theme throughout this text. Measurement issues and practices are discussed, and a decision-making framework is provided to guide the choice of assessment tools. Detailed reviews of up-to-date assessments on all aspects of occupational performance and the environment, including reviews of both quantitative and qualitative assessment methods, are provided. Strategies for using assessment information for different purposes, such as individual client outcomes, program evaluation, and quality improvement are covered. The use of occupational performance information in managed care is also addressed. This outstanding resource concludes by discussing emerging trends in occupational performance assessment, and how these trends will impact the field of occupational therapy.

Features

Authored by three preeminent leaders in the field of occupational therapy. An outstanding resource that provides a comprehensive approach to assessing occupational performance. Strategies for using assessment information are covered. The use of occupational performance information in managed care is addressed. This is a highly anticipated text, perfect for occupational therapy.

Mary Law, PhD, OT(C), is Associate Professor, School of Rehabilitation Science, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada, and Director of the Neurodevelopmental Clinical Research Unit at McMaster University. She holds an undergraduate degree in Occupational Therapy and graduate degrees in Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Urban and Regional Planning. Dr. Laws research interests center on environmental factors which support daily life participation of children with disabilities, evaluation of occupational therapy interventions with children, and methods to facilitate a client-centered occupational therapy practice.

Carolyn M. Baum, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, is the Elias Michael Director and Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy and Neurology at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO. She has served as President of the American Occupational Therapy Association, President of the National Board for Certification of Occupational Therapy (formerly AOTCB), and has held numerous positions in the profession. She has served in a number of policy positions, most recently on the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research at the National Institutes of Health, and a committee to make recommendations to Congress on future needs of rehabilitation and engineering at the Institute of Medicine. She has grants through the National Institute on Aging and the James S. McDonnell Foundation studying the impact of cognitive impairment on daily life.

Winnie Dunn is Professor and Chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy Education at the University of Kansas. Dr. Dunn holds a bachelor's degree in occupational therapy and a master of science degree in special education-learning disabilities from the University of Missouri. She earned her doctorate in applied neuroscience from the University of Kansas.

She is a fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), has received the Award of Merit for outstanding service contributions to the profession, is a member of the Academy of Research of the American Occupational Therapy Foundation, and most recently was named the Eleanor Clark Slagle lecturer for her significant contributions to conceptual and evidence-based neuroscience research and practice. She has served on the Commission on Practice, the Early Intervention and School Based Practice Task Forces of AOTA, has been the chair of the Research Development Committee of the AOTF, and just completed a decade of service on the National Board for Certification of Occupational Therapy (NBCOT). As Chair of the Research Advisory Committee of NBCOT, she directed the National Study of Occupational Therapy Practice, which led to the current test blueprint for the certification exam in occupational therapy.

Dr. Dunn has spoken and written extensively about service provision practices for children and families. Through her research, she has demonstrated the effectiveness of consultation and the use of theory to guide contextually relevant practice. Her line of research about sensory processing in daily life has been very fruitful, producing the Sensory Profile assessments that identify distinct patterns of sensory processing in various groups of infants, toddlers, children, youth, adults, and older adults.