Housing adaptations and home modifications

Worldwide, but subject to substantial variations across countries, housing adaptations and home modifications constitute important and common interventions in occupational therapy practice. Starting out from the notion that occupational performance is the outcome of person–environment–occupation (P–E–O) transactions, such interventions are applicable with all kinds of clients with occupational performance problems in the home setting. Housing adaptations entail alterations of permanent physical features in the home and the immediate outdoor environment, whereas home modifications typically are more complex interventions that often include the provision of assistive technology and related training, etc. Most clients are older people, and measures such as removal of thresholds, installation of shower stalls instead of bathtubs, and installation of handrails and grab bars are among the most common. A growing body of scientific evidence has the potential to strengthen this part of occupational therapy practice, with the ultimate goal of creating home environments that support occupational performance—and ultimately, health, and quality of life.