Assessments Introduction

OT Dude Academy’s Free NBCOT® Exam Prep Course Assessments Introduction
  • Practitioners should use professional reasoning and be the leaders of change towards obtaining clinically relevant, functionally oriented, and occupationally based assessments that meet the specific needs of different client populations.1 
  • Occupational therapy’s choice of assessments has shifted focus to impairment-level assessments that are consistent with the medical model. However, the danger of this approach to assessment is the likelihood of utilizing non-functional tools developed by other professions.2 
  • The individuality of the client should not be sacrificed by choosing a one-size-fits-all standardized measure in order to provide quantifiable outcome data.3 
    • Goal attainment scaling is an example of an individualized assessment tool that uses a standardized process to measure the level of goal attainment.4 5 6 
  • Hayes and Tickle-Degnen emphasize the need for incorporating psychometrically sound assessments within occupational therapy practice to promote evidence-based practice.7 8 9 
  • A study that asked therapists what they thought about reliability and validity found that some of them confused the terms or misunderstood them. Therapists also preferred ‘standardized’ assessments as this was perceived to be related to reliability and validity and give it credibility. Therapists have a responsibility to understand these terms and how they apply to assessments in order to weigh their features critically and understand their limitations.10 
  • Caution to be taken when therapists modify or adapt tools for their own means.
  1. Mohammed Alotaibi, N., Reed, K., & Shaban Nadar, M. (2009). Assessments used in occupational therapy practice: An exploratory study. Occupational therapy in health care, 23(4), 302-318.[↩]
  2. Gillen, G. (2013). A fork in the road: An occupational hazard? (Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lecture). American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 67, 641-652. http://dx.doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2013.676002 [↩]
  3. Chapleau, A. M. (2015). Exploring the role and scope of clinical assessment in occupational therapy. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 3(3), 1.[↩]
  4. Ottenbacher, K. J., & Cusick, A. (1989). Goal attainment scaling as a method of clinical service evaluation. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 44(6), 519-525. http://dx.doi.org/10.5014/ajot.44.6.519[↩]
  5. Ruble, L., McGrew, J. H., & Toland, M. D. (2012). Goal attainment scaling as an outcome
    measure in randomized controlled trials of psychosocial interventions in autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42(9), 1974-1983. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1446-7[↩]
  6. Schlosser, R. W. (2004). Goal attainment scaling as a clinical measurement technique in
    communication disorders: A critical review. Journal of Communication Disorders, 37(3), 217-239. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2003.09.003 [↩]
  7. Hayes, R. (2000). Evidence based occupational therapy needs strategically-targeted quality research now. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 47, 186–190.[↩]
  8. Tickle-Degnen, L. (2000). Monitoring and documenting evidence during assessment and intervention. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 54(4), 434–436.
  9. “There is a need to develop tools with rigour, paying attention to issues of reliability and validity and ensuring the development of adequate manuals for the tool users.”((Johnston MV, Keith RA, Hinderer SR (1992). Measurement standards for interdisciplinary medical rehabilitation. Archives of Physical and Medical Rehabilitation 73(12-S): S3–S23.[↩]
  10. Letts L, Law M, Rigby P, Cooper B, Stewart D, Strong S (1994). Person-environment assessments in occupational therapy. American Journal of Occupational Therapy 48(7): 608–18.[↩]
  11. Clemson, L., & Fitzgerald, M. H. (1998). Understanding assessment concepts within the occupational therapy context. Occupational Therapy International, 5(1), 17-33.[↩]
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