Performance evaluation for prescription of assistive technology devices

Abstract

Introduction: The prescription and implementation of Assistive Technology (AT), when done correctly, can alleviate the impact functional limitations have on physically disabled individuals, providing them with greater participation in everyday activities. Objective: To verify the contributions of using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), which is focused on the client’s performance, when prescribing the use of AT. Methods: This is a research of descriptive transversal character, carried out with 31 patients from a public hospital in the Federal District. Data collection was carried out through the application of the COPM evaluation, and the study of the most compromised performance areas was useful for the categorization of the Assistive Technology devices. Results: From the total of participants, 51.6% (n=16) asked for indication and/or production of an AT device. The self-care area was the most compromised (96.7%), and also had the most requests for AT devices. Conclusion: This study can contribute to studies that investigate the use of evaluations for the prescription of devices. We hope that new researches can give this process continuity, prioritizing an active participation of the client when evaluating the need for an AT device.