PRACTICE ORAL / A HUMAN RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY ASSESSMENTS

Background: Occupational therapy assessments gather information about people, the occupations that matter to them, and the environments in which they participate. The aim is to collect, synthesise and interpret information... [ view full abstract ]

Background:
Occupational therapy assessments gather information about people, the occupations that matter to them, and the environments in which they participate. The aim is to collect, synthesise and interpret information necessary to appropriately address people’s occupational needs. In most practice settings, we collaborate directly with the recipients of occupational therapy to understand their capacities, challenges, resources, and environmental factors that support or prohibit engagement in occupation.
Theoretical underpinning:
Assessment practices focusing on individual clients are challenged by the World Report on Disability (WHO & World Bank, 2011), which asserts that disabled people ‘experience exclusion from everyday life activities’ (p. xxi). To address inequities in access to occupation, occupational therapists must attend to the social, political, policy, and economic context, which determines the opportunities available to disabled people.
Assessment:
Occupational therapy assessments must identify vulnerable groups and appraise the social conditions that create vulnerabilities and reduce opportunities. Such assessments must be broad-based because the information required is about groups, not individuals, and is available as demographic rather than diagnostic data.
Evaluation of outcome:
Attending to the social determinants of health is important because we treat what we measure.
Application to practice:
Incorporating assessment of societal factors will enable us to work for change at a societal level, such as policies enforcing disabled children’s access to sports clubs or reasonable workplace accommodations for people with enduring health conditions.

References
World Health Organization and The World Bank (2011) World report on disability. Geneva: WHO Press. Available at: http://www.who.int/disabilities/world_report/2011/report.pdf (Accessed February 3, 2015).