Descriptive evaluation of community based children's occupational therapy services using COPM.

Area of Science:

• Pediatric occupational therapy
• Primary health services
• Child development

Background:

• Community occupational therapy is vital for early childhood development.
• This study investigates service characteristics, parent-reported outcomes, and dose-outcome relationships.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore community occupational therapy service provision for young children.
• To assess parent-rated outcomes using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM).
• To examine the relationship between intervention dose and therapy outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective file review of 60 children (aged 0-6 years).
• Analysis of service provision characteristics.
• Comparison of pre- and post-intervention COPM performance and satisfaction scores.
• Spearman rank order correlation to assess dose-outcome relationship.

Main Results:

• Individual therapy for handwriting and motor skills was most common (85%).
• Average wait time was 26.4 weeks.
• Significant improvements in COPM performance and satisfaction scores were observed (p < 0.001).
• No correlation found between intervention dose and outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Service provision predominantly focuses on handwriting and motor skills, with notable wait times.
• Findings can inform future service development, addressing wait times and equity.
• Further research is required to determine optimal therapy dosage for pediatric occupational therapy.