The document discusses the concept of activity analysis in occupational therapy, highlighting its importance in assessing the skills and abilities required to perform various tasks. It outlines three perspectives of activity analysis: activity-focused, client-focused, and environment-client-focused, along with guidelines for each approach. The purpose of activity analysis includes enhancing clinical reasoning, ensuring appropriateness for clients, and identifying required modifications and safety precautions.

2. Shamima Akter
BOT, MRS (enrolling)
Lecturer,
Department of Occupational Therapy
Bangladesh Health Professions Institute
Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed
Chapain, Savar
ACTIVITY ANALYSIS

3. Activity Analysis
Activity analysis is a fundamental skill of
occupational therapists. A process used to
identify the inherent properties is a given
occupation, task, or activity as well as skills,
abilities or capacities required to complete it.
(Trombly, 5th ed.). There are three different
perspectives of activity analysis:
 Activity- Focused Analysis
 Client-Focused Activity Analysis
 Environment-Client-Focused Activity Analysis

4.  Task- focused activity analysis/ Activity- focused
analysis- Deconstruction of activity itself outside of
the client-specific application to build student’s or
clinician’s repertoire of therapeutic occupations.
 Client- focused activity analysis- Description of the
reasoning used in the therapeutic use of occupation-
as-means for a particular therapeutic goal for a
particular person.
 Client-environment fit analysis- Deconstruction of the
specific activity-environment-person fit to determine
and/or optimize the likelihood of successful
performance of occupation-as-end.

5. REASON OF USING ACTIVITY ANALYSIS
 To contribute to the clinical reasoning of
Occupational Therapy practitioner.
 To break the activity down to small steps.
 To whether or not a person can perform an activity.
 Therapist analyses the activity to understand the
functional requirements (performance components
are needed to perform the activity). Then compares
the requirements of the activity and tries to find out
the answer of – Does the client has the necessary
performance components to perform this activity?

6. Continue
 To determine the appropriateness of activity for a
particular client in terms of developmental needs, age,
personal interests, gender, cultural relevance.
 To determine the potential use of activity as a
treatment tool.
 To identify required resources, both intrinsic (related to
person’s abilities) and extrinsic (cost, space,
environment, time, skills, staffs).
 To identify an activity potential for modification.
 It is important for the Occupational Therapist to
understand the activity well, so that they know how
they can modify it to meet the current capacities or
abilities of the client to complete the activity.
 To identify risk, hazards and precautions.

7. GUIDELINE FOR ACTIVITY- FOCUSED
ANALYSIS
According to Radomoski and Latham 2014, the
steps of activity focused analysis are following:
 Describe the activity
 Describe the task demands
 Objects used: What are the properties of the
utensils, tools, and materials and their locations
relative to the person?
 Environmental Demands: What are the
characteristics of the environment in which the
activity is usually performed, including possible
environmental barriers and enablers?

8. Continue…
 Social Demands: What is the nature of and extent to
which the activity involves others and /or holds
particular meaning associated with social roles?
 Contextual demands
 Sequencing and timing
 Required actions: What are the steps of activity?
 Prerequisite capabilities, abilities, and skills
(sensorimotor, visual-perceptual, cognitive, or
psychosocial)
 Safety Precautions

9.  Identify the primary therapeutic aspects of the
activity/ adapt activity demands to align with
therapy goals
 Sensorimotor (ROM, strength, motor control, postural
control, endurance, or coordination/dexterity). If analysis of
specific muscular requirements is required, complete a
biomechanical activity- focused analysis.
Motions ROM Primary Muscles Gravity Assists,
Resists, No Effect
Minimal Strength
Required
Type of
Contraction

10.  Visual-perceptual (visual scanning, perception of
objects in space, and awareness of extrapersonal
space)
 Cognitive (attention, memory, executive
functioning, problem solving, and awareness)
 Emotional/relational (mood, engagement, and
interactions with others)
 Modify the activity demands to calibrate level
 Object used
 Space demands
 Contextual demands
 Sequencing and timing

11. GUIDELINE FOR CLIENT- FOCUSED ACTIVITY
ANALYSIS
1. Specify the primary goal that this task is intended
to advance through client performance
2. Specify which primary ability and/or capacity the
task is intended to challenge:
 ROM
 Strength
 Motor behavior
 Praxis
 Sensation
 Vision-visual perception
 Cognition

12. Continue…
3. Evaluate the therapeutic value of activity based
on these characteristics:
 Inherently evoke desired response
 Be gradable to progress the patient to higher function
 Be within patient’s capabilities
 Be meaningful
 Be repetitive

13. Continue…
4. Specify task parameters to calibrate difficulty level of the
task:
 Method of instruction
 Nature and level of cueing
 Objects and their properties (materials and
equipment)
 Environment Demands
 Sequence and timing
 Required actions and performance skills
 Required body functions
 Required body structures
 Context or environment

14. GUIDELINES FOR ENVIRONMENT-CLIENT-FOCUSED
ANALYSIS
1. Specify the task that the person wants or needs to perform in a given
environment
2. Specify the performance environments (e.g., environment in which the
client will perform the desired activity or environment in which the
therapy session with occur).
3. Evaluate the barriers or enablers to performance of this activity in this
environment:
 Task
 Environment
 Person
4. Determine solutions that will enable performance:
 Person
 Environment
 Task

15. Continue…
5. Specify task and environmental parameters to
calibrate difficulty level
 Method of instruction
 Nature and level of cueing
 Objects and their properties (materials, equipment)
 Space demands
 Sequence and timing
 Required actions and performance skills
 Required body functions
 Familiar or novel task or environment
 Known adaptations or specifics to design & build the
needed adaptation

17. REFERENCE
 Trombly CA 1996, Occupational Therapy for
Physical Dysfunction, 5th ed, Mosby Company,
Philadelphia
 Radomski and Trombly-Latham 2008,
Occupational Therapy for Physical
Dysfunction (6th Ed). Philadelphia: Lippincott,
Williams and Wilkins.
 Radomski and Trombly-Latham 2014,
Occupational Therapy for Physical
Dysfunction (7th Ed). Philadelphia: Lippincott,
Williams and Wilkins.