An on-site job evaluation performed via activity analysis.

This article was acceptedftr pubLication June 14. 1996. O ccupational therapists may be asked to perform on-site job evaluations for clients with neuromusculoskeletal problems. Currendy, methods for conducting an on-site job evaluation include, but are not limited to, the functional job analysis (Rodgers, 1992), the job analysis exchange (University of Wisconsin-Stour, 1988), or the ADAMSTM job analysis (Work Recovery Inc., 1993). Occupational therapists who are not work rehabilitation specialists may be less familiar with these methods than they are with acrivity analysis. Activity analysis is a basic occupational therapy assessment tool (Llorens, 1986; Mosey, 1981; Reed & Sanderson, 1983) that has been emphasized in the education of occupational therapists (Nelson, Cash, & Bauer, 1990) and has been used to analyze job performance (Creighton, 1992) as well as other tasks. When used during an on-site job evaluation, this tool may be used to address motor, sensory, cognitive, perceptual, emotional and behavioral, cultural, and social areas (Hopkins & Tiffany, 1988). This case report describes an on-site job evaluation conducted via activity analysis for a client who had deQuervain's release surgery. Our reasons for choosing activity analysis were twofold. First, we believed that activity analysis remains a critical and basic occupational therapy assessment tool for on-site job evaluations. Second, we believed that activity analysis, which traditionally has been an occupational therapy skill, provides clinicians with a means of providing a comprehensive, holistic evaluation and, therefore, a holistic treatment approach.