A description of a functional screening assessment developed for the acute physical setting

This article provides a description of the development, process and introduction of the Structured Anchored Approach to Functional Assessment (SAAFA).1 The approach was designed to include a person-centred and time-efficient occupational therapy functional screening assessment that would meet the needs of patients and be appropriate for use in an acute physical inpatient setting. SAAFA assessments were developed to incorporate the strengths of both quantitative and qualitative occupational therapy assessments and research methods. Taken in the round, SAAFA assessments follow a process that corresponds with the four processes of qualitative research: data gathering, analysis, interpretation and reflexivity (Miller and Crabtree 2003). The SAAFA is a dynamic approach that continues to evolve in response to developments in theory and practice. Information from occupational therapists' reports of their day-to-day practice indicate that SAAFA assessments reflect the complexity of individual patients' functioning and lead to the development of recommendations based on pragmatic consideration of a wide range of contextual influences. Research on the SAAFA commenced in 2002.