Canadian Occupational Performance Measure: Benefits and Limitations Highlighted Using the Delphi Method and Principal Component Analysis.
Jean-Michel Caire, Sabrina Maurel-Techene, Thierry Letellier and 4 others
PMID 35300198WHAT IT FOUND
French occupational therapists trained in the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure agreed it supports client-centered care and team decision-making.
They identified barriers including patient cognitive difficulties, lack of institutional knowledge, and time constraints. This reflects expert opinion on usability, not evidence of clinical outcomes.
Key findings
01Experts agreed the COPM facilitates client-centered practice by capturing the patient's voice and prioritizing their daily occupation issues.
02Major limitations included patient difficulties with attention, understanding, or behavior, and a lack of institutional knowledge of the model.
03The COPM was seen as a tool for interprofessional team decision-making and evaluating intervention outcomes, not just individual therapy.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study reflects the opinions of a small, self-selected group of 33 experts who had already chosen to undergo specific training, which may bias results toward positive views of the tool. It reports consensus on usability and perceived value, not actual changes in patient outcomes or clinical efficacy. The Delphi method's anonymity prevented tracking how individual opinions changed across rounds, limiting understanding of how consensus was reached. Findings are specific to the French healthcare context and may not generalize to other systems with different institutional structures or training standards.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The study was not funded by commercial entities; participants were recruited from a national occupational therapy association.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the high consensus on benefits as proof that the COPM improves patient outcomes. This study reports what trained therapists believe about the tool's usability and conceptual fit, not clinical effectiveness data.