Predicting the use of occupational therapy services among people with multiple sclerosis in Atlantic Canada

This secondary analysis examined the factors that predicted the use of occupational therapy services since diagnosis and over the past year among people with multiple sclerosis in Atlantic Canada. Data were gathered through a mail-out survey of members of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada (Atlantic Division) in the winter of 1997/98. The Behavioral Model of Health Services Utilization (Andersen & Newman, 1973) was used to guide the analysis. Seeing greater numbers of health professionals, having a hospitalization in the past year, and having more functional limitations all increased the likelihood of seeing an occupational therapist, both since diagnosis and over the past year. These findings suggest that the organization and structure of the service system play a large role in the likelihood that a person with multiple sclerosis will see an occupational therapist in Atlantic Canada.