The concept of function

It appears that the focus of occupational therapy on function has moved away from the concept to centre on assessments. Conceptual debate concerning function has been muted and lost in the technicalities of the measurement process and measurement theory. Numerous reviews of functional assessments have recently appeared in the occupational therapy literature.1–5 Current discussions appear to be driven by technical issues, such as the demonstration of the reliability and validity of specific measures, rather than the extent to which the design and structure of the measures form the most appropriate conceptualisation of function. A re-centring of this issue towards conceptual discussions and away from measurement technicalities is highly desirable. The purpose of this article is to review the ways function is currently perceived and to raise many of the questions that the profession must debate and resolve regarding this issue.