Current Trends and Future- Oriented View of Clinical Measurement Used by Neurological Occupational Therapist

Occupational therapist is required for patient-centered approaches to actively seek the perspectives of patients and their families in clinical settings. The purpose of this study was to investigate the current trends and to suggest future-oriented view of examination and assessment used by neurological occupational therapist in clinical settings. Sixty-six occupational therapists who work in persons with neurological disorders participated in this study. The survey was measured from Seoul and GyeongGi by means of E-mail about commonly used assessment tools and selecting considerations. The participants were 66 neurological occupational therapists. The number of patients by one day was from 10 to 14 persons, and the length of time for initial evaluation was 20-40 minutes per one patient, and reexamination periods was every 1 month or as functional changes were detected. The using tool was not limited only neurological tools, and choice consideration was the reliability and validity of clinical measures. The most frequently used tools for adults were: JHFT for motor function in upper extremity, MMSE-K for cognitive perceptual assessment, MBI for daily activity assessment, and COPM for occupational performance. The most frequently used tools for child were: MVPT for cognitive perceptual assessment and Wee-FIM for daily activity assessment. The results of this study suggest that it is necessary to integrate and associate patient-report, care-giver report, and results of performance-based assessment for estimating plan of care more quality.