Occupation-based practice incorporates meaningful activities in a therapeutic manner during occupational therapy treatment to help clients reach their goals. Research suggests inclusion of occupation in practice generates better health outcomes. Skubik-Peplaski and colleagues (2014) explored the effect of an occupation-based approach and yielded better results and greater client satisfaction. 

The need to use occupation in practice is established, but there is no mechanism to measure the use of occupation in practice. The Occupation-Based Practice Assessment (OBPA), grounded in the Dynamic Model of Occupation-Based Practice (Psillas & Stav, 2021), was designed to measure the extent of occupation in practice. This study aims to measure the interrater reliability of the OBPA and test its utility for self-administration. This tool captures the four main constructs of occupation-based practice: authentic occupation, meaningful and purposeful value, therapeutic intent, and engaged participation. The OBPA allows practitioners to reflect on their use of occupation in practice. This tool uniquely captures multiple aspects of practice including individual and group intervention, assessment, measurement tools, and influences on practice. The goal of the OBPA is to aid practitioners, students, educators, administrators, and scholars in professional development, program evaluation, and research. 

Research will take place at an inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Saint Louis, MO where the research team will assess practice with the OBPA. Data will be compared between pairs of data collectors and the observed therapist using an Intraclass Correlation Coefficient to demonstrate agreement between raters. Data collection has yet to be conducted at the time of this abstract submission. 

Dr. Wendy Stav, Sarah Jaworski, and Kristin Compton have made a large impact on Sarah, Mary Kate, and Kaitlyn's research experience thus far and they feel lucky to be a part of such a supportive research team. Over the past year, Dr. Wendy Stav, Sarah Jaworski, and Kristin Compton have always been encouraging and have given Sarah, Mary Kate, and Kaitlyn room to grow as researchers and occupational therapists. Sarah, Mary Kate, and Kaitlyn look forward to being a part of the research team over the course of the next year.