A Review of Occupation and Impairment Based Assessments Used in Occupational Therapy

Objective: The objective of this paper was to analyze the psychometrics, efficacy, and usefulness of assessments to measure occupational performance and occupation-based outcomes. Methodology: Eight Doctor of Occupational Therapy Students at Nova Southeastern University, along with their professor, analyzed and appraised 46 commonly used assessments to discover and explore the assessments’ purposes, theory-bases, psychometric properties, and usefulness as outcome measures. Results: We found that many high quality assessments exist and meet the standards for validity and reliability. Although some assessments are client-centered and useful, some still require additional research to strengthen their psychometric properties. Conclusion: Some widely used assessments are better for assessing occupation-based outcomes while others are better for assessing specific client factors. Despite their lack of psychometric information, some of the assessments we analyzed may still be useful in practice