Occupational Formulation: A Scoping Review of Its Development and Use

Area of Science:

• Occupational therapy
• Clinical reasoning
• Evidence-based practice

Background:

• Occupational formulation integrates assessment findings to understand clients' occupational participation and needs.
• While recognized in guidelines, its development and application in occupational therapy require further exploration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review of occupational formulation in occupational therapy.
• To identify the development, application, and characteristics of occupational formulation.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive scoping review following established guidelines (Arksey and O'Malley, PRISMA-ScR).
• Searches across five databases, a theses repository, and grey literature sources.
• Inclusion of 102 English sources describing occupational formulation or conceptualization by occupational therapists.

Main Results:

• Sources primarily from the UK and US, focusing on mental health settings (2002-2025).
• Four developmental strands identified: Model of Human Occupation-associated, practice process descriptions, psychological, and bespoke approaches.
• Key features include grounding in theory, integration into practice, collaboration, narrative approach, structure, and ongoing process.

Conclusions:

• Occupational formulation, as a process and product, strengthens occupational therapy by linking theory to practice and enhancing reasoning.
• Proposed definitions aim to standardize its use in research and practice.
• Further research is needed to evaluate its effectiveness across diverse settings and populations.