Highlights
- •Most respondents believe occupation-based interventions should be performed by hand therapists.
- •41% of the respondents indicated that they use occupation-based interventions 26%-50% of the time with their clients.
- •The most frequently used assessment was the Disabilities of the Shoulder Arm & Hand.
Abstract
Introduction
The purpose of this study was to gather information on how hand therapists incorporate occupation-based interventions in their clinical practice
and what outcome measures hand therapists use to measure the occupational performance
of their clients
Study Design
Cross-Sectional Survey Design.
Methods
The 16-item Survey was distributed to members of the American Society of Hand Therapists
on two occasions.
Results
Three hundred eleven hand therapists responded to the survey. Hand therapists use
a variety of occupation-based interventions (OBI) in clinical practice and most believe
they are important. Findings from this study reveal that incorporating an occupation-based
assessment along with or in place of an assessment of body functions and structures
is not performed routinely. One hundred twenty-six (41%) respondents indicated that
they use occupation-based activities 26-50% of the time with their clients.
Discussion
The top three OBI interventions used by hand therapists included dressing tasks, cooking
and meal preparation, and in hand manipulation of coins and medication. The lack of
understanding of the theoretical models regarding occupation-based interventions may
be a barrier toward implementation of occupation-based interventions and assessments
as many hand therapists may have trained under a medical model.
Conclusion
Most respondents to this survey indicated that they believe OBI should be performed
by hand therapists and use them routinely in practice. The most frequently used type of assessment was the DASH (Disabilities of the Shoulder Arm & Hand). The least frequently
used assessment was the Short Form 36 and patient specific occupation-based assessment.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 28, 2021
Accepted:
October 7,
2021
Received in revised form:
October 4,
2021
Received:
July 14,
2021
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
