Assessment of Older People's Health and Social Care Needs and ...

Process of Physiotherapy Needs AssessmentIn terms of physiotherapy needs assessment, a physiotherapist uses information from the clientabout his or her specific problem or limitation, supplemented by information from other colleaguesand family members or carers, as appropriate. There is also an objective examination of the personat the level of body structures/functions and activity (see Figure 3). The physiotherapist establishes alink between the reported limitations and the potential structures causing them and arrives at aphysiotherapy diagnosis. For example, a person with a stroke may present with impairments inmuscle tone, control of voluntary movement and balance reactions (functions) as a result of a CVA(structure). This may prevent the person from walking or moving an arm and he or she may nolonger be able to participate in social networks or work (activities and participation).Figure 3: Physiotherapy Needs Assessment•Impairments of bodystructures/functionsLimitations ofactivitiesRestriction ofparticipation•Range of motion, tone,flexibility, gait patterns,strength, fitness•Walking, transfers,hobbies, home lifeInvolvement in lifesituations•Standardised Assessments and MeasurementsThe way we, as professionals, look at assessment and measurement is shaped by our owndisciplines. In the context of physiotherapy, when we talk about measurement, we mean theapplication of standard scales to variables giving a numerical scale. The numerical scores may becombined for each variable to give an overall score. This might be something like the Barthel Indexor the Elderly Mobility Scale. This then is measurement. Assessment is the process of understandingthat measurement in a specific context and It is a very individualised process.Assessment of Older People's Health and Social Care Needs and Preferences,