Providers perform health assessments on patients to evaluate levels of health, including function and cognition. Health assessments can aid in determining the appropriate level of care and treatment needed by a patient. Health assessments may also be called tests, exams, measures, etc.
Common Assessment Tools in OT:
List were comprised by Eastern Michigan University (https://guides.emich.edu/otassessments)
Additional Resources List:
List were comprised by Eastern Michigan University (https://guides.emich.edu/otassessments)
Search the FGCU Library catalog using keywords ANDed with a main topic such as :
assessment OR questionnaires OR tests OR assessment tools
AND (topic such as:)
health status
assessment OR questionnaires OR tests OR assessment tools
AND (topic such as:)
occupational therapy
Interested in obtaining a copy of specific health tests? Just as with searching for psychological tests, there are different avenues to try. Also like psychological tests, health tests fall under one of two categories:
Some tests can be found easily online using an online search engine, like Google or Bing. Other tests may require searching through databases, journal articles, dissertations, etc. (See below.) Certain tests (commercial/published) are only available for purchase from the publisher that owns the test. Publishers sometimes grant permission to a free test copy for research purposes, but the researcher may have to contact them with a request and explain why a copy is needed. Finally, some tests may only be obtained from test authors, requiring the researcher to contact that author and hope for a positive response.
If searching for information about a certain test (as opposed to an actual test copy) information may be obtained through searching online (try Google Scholar in addition to regular search engines), or searching through databases and journal articles. Scroll down for sources to try:
CINAHL
Comprehensive database for nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and other allied health fields.
SEARCH TIP: Go to Advanced Search. Type “Research Instrument” into the top search box. Then select “PT Publication Type” in the “Select a Field” box next to it. Then, type in the appropriate subject or keyword in the next search box. (For example, "heath status," etc.)
ERIC (ProQuest)
This resource, sponsored by the U.S. Dept. of Education, provides access to education related journal articles, conferences, government documents, theses, dissertations, reports, audiovisual media, directories, books and monographs from 1966 to present.
SEARCH TIP: In advanced search, enter the subject of your test search, then limit the Document Type to Tests/Questionnaires. (You will need to scroll down in the Document Type field to get to Tests/Questionnaires.)
Health & Psychosocial Instruments (HAPI)
Indexes articles and primary sources that typically include rating scales, questionnaires, checklists, tests, interview schedules, and coding schemes/manuals for health and social sciences. Only contains bibliographic references of unpublished (noncommercial) tests. It also may provide information about certain behavioral measurement instruments. However, full-text of the instruments is not guaranteed.
MEDLINE (ProQuest)
The NLM's large database covering biomedicine and health, searchable through the ProQuest interface and linking to full-text when available in ProQuest. Covers only 1999 to present.
PsycINFO
Provides access to international literature in psychology and related disciplines, such as psychiatry, medicine, nursing, pharmacology, and social work. Like HAPI, only contains bibliographic references of unpublished (noncommercial) tests. Interestingly, PsychINFO does provide access to some health tests, in addition to psychological ones.
SEARCH TIP: To find articles with the test/measures included, type “appended” in the search box. In the box next to it marked “anywhere”, click on the down arrow to open up a drop-down menu, then select “TM Tests & Measures.” In another search box, type the subject of your test (e.g., to search for test measuring depression, type "health").
That way, if a research article includes the actual test with it, the term "[Appended]" will appear after the test's name in the "Test and measures" field that appears on the article's full citation page. (To get to an article's full citation, you must click on the article's title on the search results page.)
Note that you may also search for the name of a particular test in the search box when the TM Tests & Measures field next to it is selected.
International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF)
The World Health Organization's "framework for measuring health and disability at both individual and population levels. ICF was officially endorsed by all 191 WHO Member States in the Fifty-fourth World Health Assembly on 22 May 2001(resolution WHA 54.21) as the international standard to describe and measure health and disability." You can browse the ICF online and download the ICF Checklist.
