Purpose

The Occupational Performance History Interview (OPHI-II) is a semi-structured interview that explores a client's life history in the areas of work, play, and self-care performance

Basic Information

• Title/Author(s):
  Occupational Performance History Interview-II (OPHI-II)
  Developed by: Gary Kielhofner, Trudy Mallinson, Carrie Crawford, Meika Nowak, Matt Rigby, Alexis Henry, and Deborah Walens
  
  

• Year of Publication & Publisher:
  
  

  • Published in 2004, Version 2.1
    
    

  • Publisher: Model of Human Occupation Clearinghouse (MOHO Clearinghouse) at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
    
    

Assessment Details

• Identify TWO Types:
  
  

  • Semi-structured interview
    
    

  • Criterion-referenced assessment
    
    

• Cost & How to Access:
  
  

  • Cost:
    
    

    • Approximately $99 USD (manual and reproducible forms included).
      
      

  • Access:
    
    

    • Available through the Model of Human Occupation Clearinghouse:
      https://moho.uic.edu/
      or by direct institutional purchase.
      
      

• Population & Setting:
  
  

  • Population:
    
    

    • Adolescents and adults (ages 12 and up) with mental health conditions, physical disabilities, neurological conditions, or developmental disabilities.
      
      

  • Setting:
    
    

    • Mental health facilities, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, outpatient clinics, community-based programs.
      
      

• Purpose & Areas Assessed:
  
  

  • Purpose:
    
    

    • To gather a detailed occupational history and understand a client’s subjective experience related to occupational engagement over their life span.
      
      

  • Areas Assessed:
    
    

    • Work/volunteer experiences
      
      

    • Play/leisure activities
      
      

    • Self-care routines
      
      

    • Occupational identity
      
      

    • Occupational competence
      
      

    • Environmental impact on occupational performance
      
      

Administration & Scoring

• Administration:
  
  

  • Time Required:
    
    

    • Approximately 45–75 minutes, depending on client responses.
      
      

  • Format:
    
    

    • Individual, face-to-face, semi-structured interview using a standardized set of questions and rating forms.
      
      

    • Three main parts:
      
      

      1. Occupational identity rating
         
         

      2. Occupational competence rating
         
         

      3. Occupational settings impact rating
         
         

• User Qualifications:
  
  

  • Must be administered by a licensed occupational therapist or an occupational therapy student under supervision who has training in MOHO assessments.
    
    

• Materials Required:
  
  

  • OPHI-II manual
    
    

  • Interview rating forms
    
    

  • Life history narrative form
    
    

  • Data summary form
    
    

  • Pen/pencil
    
    

• Scoring:
  
  

  • After the interview, the therapist rates the client’s occupational performance on three scales:
    
    

    • Occupational Identity (12 items)
      
      

    • Occupational Competence (9 items)
      
      

    • Occupational Settings Impact (9 items)
      
      

  • Each item is scored on a 4-point ordinal scale:
    
    

    • 4 = Exceptionally competent
      
      

    • 3 = Competent
      
      

    • 2 = Some difficulty
      
      

    • 1 = Extreme difficulty
      
      

  • The life history narrative is also synthesized as part of the assessment findings.
    
    

Psychometrics/Standardization

• Reliability:
  
  

  • Studies have reported good internal consistency (Mallinson et al., 1998) and acceptable interrater reliability with trained users.
    
    

  • Emphasis is placed on the need for training to ensure scoring consistency across raters.
    
    

• Validity:
  
  

  • Content validity supported through extensive qualitative research and testing within MOHO-based intervention programs.
    
    

  • Construct validity confirmed in studies linking OPHI-II ratings to broader measures of occupational participation and psychosocial adaptation.
    
    

• Norms:
  
  

  • There are no strict normative scores; interpretation is individualized based on client history, current occupational engagement, and setting expectations.
    
    

Critical Thinking Sections

Strengths

• Rich, client-centered information — Provides a comprehensive understanding of how a client’s occupations have evolved over their lifetime.
  
  

• Aligns with best practice models — Strongly supports occupation-based, client-centered therapy approaches.
  
  

• Flexible and adaptable — Can be used across a wide variety of diagnoses and settings.
  
  

• Encourages therapeutic rapport — Deep interview fosters client reflection and open communication.
  
  

• Supports intervention planning — Helps identify meaningful occupational goals based on life narrative.
  
  

Weaknesses

• Lengthy administration time — May be fatiguing for clients with cognitive, emotional, or endurance limitations.
  
  

• Requires skill and training — Interviewing, scoring, and interpreting narratives require clinical reasoning and familiarity with MOHO concepts.
  
  

• Subjectivity risk — Narrative interpretations and scoring can vary if raters are not adequately calibrated.
  
  

• Limited standardized normative data — Not designed for statistical comparisons across populations; relies on therapist judgment.
  
  

References

Kielhofner, G., Mallinson, T., Crawford, C., Nowak, M., Rigby, M., Henry, A., & Walens, D. (2004). Occupational Performance History Interview-II (OPHI-II), Version 2.1. Chicago, IL: Model of Human Occupation Clearinghouse, University of Illinois at Chicago.

Rehabilitation Measures Database. (2012, November 12). Occupational Performance History Interview-II (OPHI-II). Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. Retrieved March 20, 2025, from https://www.sralab.org/rehabilitation-measures/occupational-performance-history-interview-ii