The Use of OT FACT Categories to Analyze Activity Configurations of Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis

Open-ended responses on activity configurations of 25 patients with multiple sclerosis were coded using categories from the Occupational Therapy Functional Assessment Compilation Tool (OT FACT), Level II— Functional Activities of Performance (Smith, 1989, 1990). The inter-rater reliability for the five occupational therapists who coded the responses was .89. When the same categories were used by patients to code responses, there was complete agreement between therapist and patient in 94% of the activities coded. In a separate study of eight patients, 86% of the OT FACT categories reported on a “typical day” were also reported 10 days later when an “actual day” was recorded. These findings indicate that the OT FACT categories were a reliable and valid tool for coding activity configurations of patients with multiple sclerosis.