Open AccessFunctional capacity evaluation reports for clients with personal injury claims: a content analysis
Author(s) -
Allen Shelley,
Rainwater Adam,
Newbold Anthony,
Deacon Naomi,
Slatter Kelli
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
occupational therapy international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.414
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1557-0703
pISSN - 0966-7903
DOI - 10.1002/oti.199
Subject(s) - content analysis , occupational therapy , work (physics) , psychology , occupational injury , human factors and ergonomics , occupational safety and health , applied psychology , poison control , medicine , psychiatry , medical emergency , sociology , mechanical engineering , social science , pathology , engineering
Functional capacity evaluations (FCEs) for personal injury claimants are rigorously scrutinized by the stakeholders because of their financial implications. This study examined 51 medico‐legal FCE reports for clients all of whom suffered with spinal pain attributed to a motor vehicle accident. The FCEs were completed by 14 occupational therapists. Content analysis of the FCE reports identified categories and sub‐categories of objective and subjective information on which occupational therapists reported. They included employment, activities of daily living, pain, functional physical capacities and job demands. Recommendations included the suitability of current and future jobs. However, the reasoning behind occupational therapists' recommendations in the FCE reports was frequently not stated. This content analysis demonstrated that these detailed FCE reports had a consistent focus on work capacity; further, the researchers suggest refinements to FCE reporting practices so that findings, recommendations and predictions about work outcomes for clients are interpreted clearly and realistically. Copyright © 2004 Whurr Publishers Ltd.