CASE: THE RESEARCH PROCESS

Case: The Research Process

Case: The Research Process

This study examined the reliability and validity of the Executive Function Performance Test (EFPT). The EFPT assesses executive function deficits in the performance of real-world tasks. It uses a structured cueing and scoring system to assess higher-level cognitive functions, specifically initiation, organization, sequencing safety and judgment, and task completion. Seventy-three participants with mild to moderate stroke and 22 age- and education-matched controls completed the 4 EFPT tasks (cooking, using the telephone, managing medications, and paying bills). Significant differences were found between participants with mild and moderate stroke and healthy control participants. The EFPT can help occupational therapists determine the level of support needed by people with cognitive impairments to perform complex instrumental tasks. Objective information derived from this assessment is an essential part of the process of determining whether the person can live independently and helping families understand how to support the performance of their family members at home.

The measure described in this article, the Executive Function Performance Test (EFPT; Baum, Morrison, Hahn, & Edwards, 2003; Katz, Tadmore, Felzen, & Hartman-Maeir, 2007), has several advantages over existing performance-based assessments. First, it is easily administered after brief training (provided in the manual) in what to observe and how to cue and score. Second, it isolates cognitive components related to executive functions during performance of four instrumental activities; this information is crucial to the generation of treatment plans. Third, it uses a top-down approach that allows the practitioner to objectively assess the client during the performance of a task, and unlike many other instruments assessing instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), it assesses actual performance rather than rely on proxy or self-report. Moreover, the EFPT measures the level of support the person needs from another person to be successful in the four daily life ...