This article details the 22nd Vona du Toit Memorial Lecture delivered by Daleen Casteleijn highlighting how occupational therapists in South Africa do not seem to have adopted routine measurement in daily practice and seven stepping stones to overcome this. Although there is an abundance of valuable clinical contributions by occupational therapists, there is little evidence of recorded change in clients’ activity participation or functional ability.
This Vona du Toit Memorial Lecture addresses this apparent shortcoming in practice, highlighting the work of Vona du Toit, Mary Reilly and Georg Rash. Seven stepping-stones to consider when implementing routine outcome measurement were presented. The importance of having an occupational therapy mainstay, namely occupational performance, was argued.
Routine outcome measurement was presented as a viable strategy for basic evidence indicators of occupational performance at any time, any place and without much effort. The basic science underpinning development of such measures was clarified and presented as a way for occupational therapy to get a foot in the door to enhance its recognition as a powerful profession, whilst proving the invaluable change that meaningful occupational performance can bring about.
Casteleijn D. (2013) Stepping stones from input to outcomes: an occupational perspective. South African Journal of Occupational Therapy. 43 (1) p 2-9.