Occupational Therapists’ Perceptions of Routine Outcome Measurement Within Private Psychiatric Settings in South Africa

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Mental illness affects daily functioning and participation in meaningful occupations, with occupational therapists playing a key role in supporting clients through occupation-based interventions. However, occupational therapists often struggle to define their role and demonstrate effectiveness, particularly in South Africa. Routine Outcome Measurement (ROM) could be beneficial by systematically tracking client outcomes; however, its use in private psychiatric settings in South Africa is currently limited. This study aims to explore occupational therapists' perceptions on ROM implementation in South African private psychiatric settings, addressing a gap in knowledge and informing strategies to improve evidence-based mental health care. METHODOLOGY: A descriptive qualitative study design was employed to collect data from a sample of 10 occupational therapists working in private psychiatric settings. Semi-structured interviews were conducted over the Zoom platform. RESULTS: The study revealed four main themes, each with multiple subthemes: 1) Perceived difficulties of implementing routine outcome measurement (ROM) in clinical practice 2) Perceived value of implementing ROM within clinical practice 3) Current trends of measurement in clinical practice 4) Ways of improving the implementation of ROM in clinical practice CONCLUSION: This study provides valuable insights into the feasibility of implementing ROM in occupational therapy within private psychiatric settings in South Africa. This research further contributes to the advancement of evidence-based practices in mental health care. Future studies should focus on how to incorporate ROM more effectively into clinical practice to ensure the sustainable uptake of RO