Evaluation: Obtaining and Interpreting Data, Second Edition

Accountability, full engagement of clients in their treatment, emphasis on quality of life, and movement away from inpatient care all have contributed to significant changes in how occupational therapists and other health care providers view the evaluation process and the methods by which they evaluate. Thus, we now find ourselves struggling to perfect a process that can provide us with all the information we and our clients require.

Further, the current health care system is changing rapidly and is so focused on costs and outcomes that every profession must establish value in no uncertain terms. When once it might have been enough to have our clients express their gratitude and to "feel" that we had genuinely helped, now only real evidence will suffice. This means research, and careful evaluation is at the core of that research.

Therefore, it is essential that occupational therapists, researchers, and administrators have a single resource that can address these complex questions effectively. The comprehensive approach of this new edition reflects the growing professional confidence in our ability to evaluate not only our clients but also the means by which we evaluate them. This volume reflects the increasing maturity of a profession that is prepared to assert its own value and clarify it ability to develop its own practices and principles. It also has tremendous value to occupational therapists who find themselves struggling to provide the best possible care in a complicated world.

--Adapted from the Foreword by Bette R. Bonder, PhD, OTR, FAOTA

Jim Hinojosa, PhD, OT, FAOTA, is professor and chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy at New York University.

Paula Kramer, PhD, OTR, FAOTA, is professor and chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.

Patricia Crist, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, is founding chair and professor of the Department of Occupational Therapy at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.