The Canadian occupational performance measure for patients with stroke: a systematic review

[Purpose] This study investigated whether the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure is a suitable outcome measure for assessing patients with stroke in research and clinical settings. [Subjects and Methods] The study included into two parts: (1) an investigation of the reliability and validity of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure for patients with stroke and (2) an exploration of Canadian Occupational Performance Measure results in randomized controlled trials of patients with stroke. For this review, the study searched the MEDLINE, PubMed, and CINAHL Plus with Full Text databases for articles published before September 2015. [Results] Finally, three eligible articles were collected in part 1, and ten randomized controlled trials studies were collected in part 2. The findings of part 1 revealed that the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure had efficient test–retest reliability, however, the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure revealed weak associations with other assessment tools such as Barthel Index used for patients with stroke. Six of the randomized controlled trials studies used the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure as a primary outcome and two as a secondary outcome, while the other two as a goal-setting instrument. [Conclusion] This review indicates that the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure is appropriate for clinicians, including physiotherapists, in assessing outcome for patients with stroke. The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure can assist patients in identifying their outcome performance and provide therapists with directions on interventions.