The disability profile of adults who receive adaptive equipment from local authority occupational therapy services

Little is known about the disability profile of people who receive adaptive equipment or about the efficacy or cost-effectiveness of provision. A cross-sectional survey of the records of eight purposefully chosen local authority occupational therapy departments in the Midlands, England, was conducted. The Barthel Activities of Daily Living Index was then used to describe the self-care dependency characteristics of 342 community-dwelling adults in receipt of the equipment provided, following an assessment by one of 24 occupational therapists or 8 assistants. The results indicated that the majority of service users were older than 65 years (78%) and experiencing difficulty in more than one domain. The median Barthel Activities of Daily Living Index score was 14.5, IQR 11-17, with greatest dependency in bathing, climbing stairs, dressing and transfers. Information about the population can help not only to plan service provision but also to underpin further evaluations of the effects of policy changes on the service.