A longitudinal study assessing the quality of occupational therapy.

A two-part longitudinal study of occupational therapy patients at the University of Illinois was conducted to assess the quality of treatment they received. The first part measures psychosocial objectives and changes on 7 activities of daily living items achieved by 534 patients between admission and discharge. The second part, a follow-up study, measures the same factors between discharge and follow-up on 86 of these patients who met certain criteria. This follow-up study also included measurements of health and life satisfaction. Significant changes were shown toward independence on all activities of daily living items between admission and discharge. Only three items--dressing, toileting, and self-transfer--changed significantly between discharge and follow-up. Measurements of self-perception of health showed a positive relationship to life satisfaction. Implications for occupational therapy stressed that new methods of delivering service be considered.