Revista Chilena de Terapia Ocupacional (Dec 2015)

How do occupational therapists use occupation-based assessments? Preliminary results of a survey in Chile

  • Jean Gajardo J.,
  • José Miguel Aravena,
  • Diego Cifuentes

DOI
https://doi.org/10.5354/0719-5346.2015.38160
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15, no. 2

Abstract

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Introduction: There is a low frequency in the use of occupation-based assessment tools by occupational therapists, who rely mostly on instruments from other disciplines. The latter becomes a problem as it creates a dissonance between theory and practice based on occupation. Aim: The purpose of this study was to characterize the use of occupation-based assessment tools by occupational therapists in Chile. Method: This quantitative study utilized a cross-sectional analytical design. An online survey was used for data collection and descriptive statistics to analyze the results. Results: A total of 388 occupational therapists responded to the survey. 66% of the respondents reported using occupation-based assessment tools, 34% reported no use. Among those who use occupation-based instruments, 94% do so for intervention with clients and use on average 4 instruments; 63% modified instruments for use and about 78% learned how to use the instruments through their undergraduate training or practice. Most of the used instruments were those derived from the model of human occupation. Among those who do not use occupation-based instruments, 97% reported knowledge of some, but do not use them due to work or time constraints (36%) or consider them not useful for their work context (31%). Conclusions: There is a high use of occupation-based instruments reported by occupational therapists in Chile; however, adequate use can be problematized as occupational therapists report to modify instruments according to their particular needs. Results indicate that work constraints and a low perception of usefulness of the instruments in relation to work places are barriers to the use of occupation-based instruments.