Creating Evidence for Practice Using Data-Driven Decision Making

Abstract

Abstract To realize the American Occupational Therapy Association’s Centennial Vision, occupational therapy practitioners must embrace practices that are not only evidence based but also systematic, theoretically grounded, and driven by data related to outcomes. This article presents a framework, the Data-Driven Decision Making (DDDM) process, to guide clinicians’ occupational therapy practice using systematic clinical reasoning with a focus on data. Examples are provided of DDDM in pediatrics and adult rehabilitation to guide practitioners in using data-driven practices to create evidence for occupational therapy.