Identifying the characteristics of occupation-centred practice: A Delphi study

Area of Science:

• Occupational Therapy
• Rehabilitation Science

Background:

• Occupation-centred practice is fundamental to modern occupational therapy.
• While its benefits are recognized, clear identification criteria for this practice approach remain undefined.
• This study addresses the need to define and identify occupation-centred practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To uncover the defining characteristics of occupation-centred practice.
• To establish how these characteristics can be identified within clinical settings.

Main Methods:

• A three-round Delphi survey was employed to achieve international consensus among occupational therapists.
• Purposive, convenience, and snowball sampling methods were utilized for participant recruitment.
• Content analysis was performed to develop characteristics, descriptions, and examples, with consensus determined by percentage agreement.

Main Results:

• A total of 100, 89, and 70 occupational therapists participated across the three Delphi rounds.
• Twelve initial characteristics were refined into four core defining characteristics of occupation-centred practice.
• These include: theory/philosophy grounded in occupation, occupation-promoting language/documentation, understanding client context, and occupation as central to all practice aspects (goal setting, assessment, intervention).

Conclusions:

• The identified characteristics, descriptions, and examples offer a practical framework for occupational therapists.
• This knowledge supports therapists in understanding and implementing occupation-centred practice.
• Future research aims to develop a tool for self-evaluation of practice against these identified characteristics.