Activity Card Sort (ACS-UK) Project
At York St John University research led
by Alison Laver-Fawcett is focussing on the development of measures
of occupational engagement, with a current project to develop a UK
version of the Activity Card Sort. In 2009/10 a third year
undergraduate dissertation project, jointly supervised by Alison
and Stephen Wey, explored occupational engagement in people with
dementia and carers of people with dementia using the United States
version of the ACS second edition (ACS: Baum & Edwards 2001;
2008). In this study the ACS was identified as a very useful
measure but cultural sensitivity issues were
highlighted. Therefore, Sarah Mallinson and
Alison-Laver Fawcett undertook a one year content validity study to
identify the items for a United Kingdom version of the Activity
Card Sort (ACS-UK). Further third year undergraduate
projects supervised by Alison have been focussing on
content validity and face validity studies.
Occupational therapists at the Retreat, a
founding partner of RCOMH, are involved in plans for further
studies to explore the validity and reliability of the ACS(UK).
The ACS is a self-report measure of occupational participation
that requires older adults to sort photographs, of other older
people performing a range of activities, into different categories
of engagement. It was originally developed in America to measure,
monitor and adapt the occupational participation/engagement of
older people with Alzheimer’s disease (Baum 1993; Baum, 1995) and
has since been successfully applied to wider populations, receiving
robust empirical support (e.g., Carpenter et al., 2007; Everard et
al., 2000). Recent research, however, has demonstrated that whilst
the ACS is an effective assessment tool it is most useful when the
activities depicted are specific to the older person’s culture
(e.g., Katz et al., 2003; Chan et al., 2006; Doney & Packer,
2008). In fact, eight countries (US, Australia, Netherlands, Puerto
Rico, Hong-Kong, Korea, Israel, and Singapore) have culturally
adapted the activities of ACS with good effect to date. As the ACS
has clear empirical support and is of important practical use for
occupational therapists, it was felt that a version specific to the
culture of the UK need be devised in order for its use with older
UK adults to maintain integrity. This project was supported by
internal funding from YSJU and by Dr. Carolyn Baum and Dr. Dorothy
Edwards (authors of the original ACS), provided valued advice and
data related to the eight existing version of the ACS.
For further information, a full reference list and / or to
become involved future research related to the development of the
ACS-UK please email Alison E:a.laverfawcett@yorksj.ac.uk.