Reporting Patients' Work Abilities: How the Use of Standardised Work Assessments Improved Clinical Practice in Fife

Abstract

Reporting patients' work abilities accurately is essential in the rehabilitation process. Work assessment and rehabilitation require occupational therapists to be skilled in the use of valid and reliable assessment tools to support clinical reasoning. The aim of this study was to ascertain if the use of two standardised work assessments (SWAs) improved the quality of the information recorded about patients' work abilities. Case note review using a local standard and audit tool was carried out before (n = 42) and after (n = 41) use of the Valpar Component Work Samples and the Worker Role Interview. Anecdotal evidence was also collected. The results demonstrated an improvement in the reporting of most of the areas matched against the standard and the anecdotal evidence was supportive of the use of SWAs. It was concluded that the use of SWAs by skilled occupational therapists improved the reporting of patients' work abilities.