Canadian Occupational Performance Measure the state of the art–a review

Abstract

Background: Occupational therapists aim to deliver interventions to enhance clients’ occupational performance and document the outcomes of clients’ experience. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) is a measurement tool designed for such documentation, and a recognised measurement used worldwide. However, the authors’ research and teaching experiences have revealed that there are often misinterpretations and uncertainties administering the COPM. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to present information to answer these issues. Methods: Based on a state-of-the-art review, 856 papers were identified on PubMed, of which 36 were included together with the first author’s work, to summarise relevant answers. Results: Answers to the four key issues are unfolded to address the misinterpretations and uncertainties regarding: (1) the core content of the COPM, focussing on being client-centred; (2) understanding the term occupational performance; (3) reflecting on the psycho-metric status on the COPM, what it provides; (4) reflecting on necessary considerations when administering the measurement, understanding the measurement’s five steps to ensure a valid and reliable use. Conclusion: The valid, reliable, and applicable use of the COPM can be enhanced through therapists’ commitments to and understanding of these four issues. Based on this, guidelines on how to best administer the COPM are provided.