The increasing demand for occupational therapists to justify their practice and their clinical judgements stimulated consideration of the importance of the psychometric properties of the tools used by professionals in making clinical judgements. In social services settings a variety of procedures are used to establish a client's entitlement to services, some of which are more rigorous than others. In this study, a non-standardised assessment tool to measure severity of disability was compared with a standardised tool to assesswhether there were differences in outcomes and what, if any, were the consequences for service entitlement. The conclusion was that the use of non-standardised tools may unfairly disadvantage some client groups when being assessedfor services.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BadleyEM (1987) The ICIDH: format, application in different settings and distinction between disability and handicap. International Disability Studies, 9(3), 122–25.
2.
BowlingA (1997) Measuring health - a review of quality of life measurement scales. Buckingham: Open University Press.
3.
ChiaSH (1996) The use of non-standardised assessment in occupational therapy with children who have disabilities. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 59(8), 363–64.
4.
de Clive-LoweS (1996) Outcome measurement, cost-effectiveness and clinical audit: the importance of standardised assessment in meeting these new demands. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 59(8), 357–62.
5.
Department of Health (1997) The new NHS: modern, dependable. White paper. London: Stationery Office.
6.
Department of Health (1998) Modernising social services. White paper. London: Stationery Office.
7.
EakinPBairdH (1995) The Community Dependency Index: a standardised assessment of need and measure of outcome for community occupational therapy. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 58(1), 17–22.
8.
FillenbaumGG (1985) Screening the elderly: a brief instrumental activities of daily living measure. Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 33, 698–706.
9.
FishDColesC (1998) Developing professional judgement in health care. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
10.
FisherAG (1997) Assessment of Motor and Process Skills. Fort Collins: Three Star Press.
11.
FrickeJ (1993) Measuring outcomes in rehabilitation: a review. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 56(6), 217–21.
12.
GrayJAM (1997) Evidence-based healthcare. How to make health policy and management decisions. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.
13.
HarrisA (1971) Handicapped and impaired in Great Britain. London: HMSO.
14.
GrantsHousing, Construction and Regeneration Act (1996) London: Stationery Office.
15.
JeffreyLIH (1993) Aspects of selecting outcome measures to demonstrate the effectiveness of comprehensive rehabilitation. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 56(11), 394–400.
16.
LuckJVFlorenceDW (1988) A brief history and comparative analysis of disability systems and impairment rating guides. Orthopaedic Clinics of North America, 19(4), 839–44.
17.
MandelstamMSchwehrB (1995) Community care practice and the law. London: Jessica Kingsley.
18.
MartinJMeltzerHElliottD (1988) OPCS surveys of disability in Great Britain. Report 1: The prevalence of disability among adults. London: HMSO.
19.
McDowellINewellC (1996) Measuring health: a guide to rating scales and questionnaires. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
PartridgeCJJohnstonMMorrisL (1991) Disability and health services: perceptions, beliefs and experiences of elderly people. London: Centre for Physiotherapy Research, King's College.
22.
PolgarSThomasSA (1995) Introduction to research in the health sciences. London: Churchill Livingstone.
23.
RochfordN (1991) Day centre care. Staff attitudes and client perceptions. Unpublished MSc thesis. London: King's College, London.
24.
SackettDLRosenbergWMCGrayJAMHaynesRBRichardsonWS (1996) Evidence-based medicine: what it is and what it isn't. British Medical Journal, 312, 71–72.
25.
SpeechleyMTinettiM (1991) Falls and injuries in frail and vigorous community elderly persons. Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 39(1), 46–52.
26.
WoodPHN (1987) Maladies imaginaires: some common misconceptions about ICIDH. International Disability Studies, 9(3), 125–28.
