The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure: An Outcome Measure for Occupational Therapy

TLDR

The Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists and Health and Welfare Canada developed the Occupational Performance model, and the COPM is an outcome measure for assessing client outcomes in self‑care, productivity, and leisure. This paper develops the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), outlining its rationale and intended use for client‑centred occupational therapy practice. The COPM employs a semi‑structured five‑step interview that yields performance and satisfaction scores for client‑identified problem areas in daily function.

Abstract

The Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists, in collaboration with Health and Welfare Canada have developed and published a conceptual model for occupational therapy, the Occupational Performance model. This paper describes the development of an outcome measure, The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), which is designed to be used with these guidelines for client-centred clinical practice. The COPM is an outcome measure designed for use by occupational therapists to assess client outcomes in the areas of self-care, productivity and leisure. Using a semi-structured interview, the COPM is a five step process which measures individual, client-identified problem areas in daily function. Two scores, for performance and satisfaction with performance are obtained. This paper describes the rationale and development of the COPM as wellas information about its use for therapists.