Domain

According to the AOTA, all aspects of occupational therapy interact and interrelate to support client engagement, participation, and health. The aspects of the domain do not have a hierarchy. They are all of equal value. These include:¹ 

• Occupations
• Contexts
• Performance Patterns
• Performance Skills
• Client factors

Occupations

• Activities of daily living (ADLs)
• Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs)
• Health management*
• Rest and sleep
• Education
• Work
• Play
• Leisure
• Social participation

*new for OTPF-4

Contexts

• Environmental factors
• Personal factors

Performance Patterns

• Habits
• Routines
• Roles
• Rituals

Performance Skills

• Motor skills
• Process skills
• Social interaction skills

Client Factors

• Values, beliefs, and spirituality
• Body functions
• Body structures

Critique of the OTPF Domain

• A critique of prior versions of the OTPF noted it to have terms that are not defined precisely, terms that were found to violate parsimony – particulars of a term that are assigned to another term and overlap, and more.² 

Additional Reading

• Review the latest copy of the OTPF’s Domain and each component of occupation, context, performance patterns, performance skills, and client factors before proceeding to the next lesson.
• Critiquing the Logic of the Domain Section of the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process – David L. Nelson

1. American Occupational Therapy Association. (2020). Occupational therapy practice framework: Domain and process (4th ed.). American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(Suppl. 2), 7412410010. https://doi. org/10.5014/ajot.2020.74S2001[↩]
2. Nelson, D. L. (2006). Critiquing the logic of the domain section of the Occupational therapy practice framework: domain and process. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 60(5), 511-523.[↩]