Ecology of Human Performance (EHP) Model ●​ Dysfunction:

Introduction ●​ Restricted performance range due to imbalance in person-task-context

●​ Origin: Developed by Winnie Dunn, Catana Brown, and Anne McGuigan in transaction.
1994 at the University of Kansas Medical Center (Dunn et al., 1994). ●​ Causes: Person limitations (health conditions, vulnerabilities),
●​ Purpose: A practice model emphasizing the role of context in task contextual barriers (e.g., limited resources), or task demands
performance, designed for occupational therapists (OTs) and exceeding capacity.
interdisciplinary professionals (e.g., special educators, counselors, ●​ Note: EHP avoids labeling clients as dysfunctional, focusing on
rehabilitation specialists). performance disruptions (Dunn, 2017).
●​ Contributors: Mary Jane Youngstrom, Linda Haney McClain. Change and Motivation
●​ Context: Emerged in the 1990s, influenced by the Americans with ●​ Motivation:
Disabilities Act (ADA, 1990) and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ●​ Driven by client’s interests, values, and perceived task
(IDEA, 1990), promoting inclusion. meaningfulness.
●​ Significance: Shifts focus from person remediation to adapting/modifying ●​ Application: Elicit client priorities and empower them as
tasks and contexts, aligning with social justice and inclusion principles. decision-makers to foster engagement.
Focus ●​ Change:
●​ Target: Enhance task performance across the lifespan in various settings ●​ Achieved by altering person, task, or context variables, often targeting
(community, health care, social) for people with diverse abilities. multiple components.
●​ Domains: Activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental ADL (IADL), work, ●​ Systems-based: Change in one component (e.g., context) impacts
education, leisure/play, sleep/rest, social participation. overall performance.
●​ Unique Aspect: Emphasizes context (cultural, temporal, physical, social, ●​ Application: Use expedient interventions for quick, rewarding
personal, virtual) over person deficits, using the term “task” instead of outcomes to reinforce client motivation.
“occupation” for interdisciplinary applicability (AOTA, 2014). Evaluation Process
●​ Goal: Promote a high performance range through preventive, ●​ Approach: Comprehensive, client-centered, assessing person, task, and
health-promotional, and rehabilitative interventions that support inclusion context as an interdependent unit (Dunn, 2017).
and client-driven lifestyles. ●​ Steps:
Theoretical Base ●​ Identify client’s wants/needs, including input from significant others
●​ Influences: and contextual systems.
●​ OT Theories: Barris (1982) on environmental arousal, Howe and ●​ Conduct task analysis to understand skill requirements/demands.
Briggs (1982) on ecological systems. ●​ Observe client’s performance style and perceptions of task difficulty.
●​ Non-OT Theories: Systems theory, environmental psychology, social ●​ Analyze desired contexts (physical, social, cultural, temporal) and
and behavioral sciences. external demands.
●​ Framework: A systems-based, ecological model focusing on the ●​ Assess person variables (sensorimotor, cognitive, psychosocial
transaction among person, task, and context (Figure 9-1). strengths/weaknesses).
●​ Assumptions (Dunn, 2017; Dunn et al., 1994): ●​ Set consumer-driven goals to promote client-led behavioral change.
●​ Ecology and Behavior: Human behavior/performance is shaped by ●​ Assessments:
person-context interactions. ●​ Checklists for person variables, task analysis, and context (Dunn,
●​ Application: Assess how environmental factors influence client 2017).
behavior during task performance. ●​ Sensory Profile (Dunn, 1997, 1999) for sensory processing across
●​ Holistic Perspective: Performance is understood through the ages.
interplay of person, context, and task, not isolated components. ●​ Occupational profiles to capture past/present interests.
●​ Application: Observe clients in natural environments to evaluate Intervention Guidelines
functioning. ●​ Goal: Enhance occupational performance by optimizing
●​ Performance Range: Varies based on internal skills (sensorimotor, person-task-context transactions.
cognitive, psychosocial) and external context (supports/barriers). ●​ Five Strategies (Dunn, 2017):
●​ Application: Modify tasks/contexts to match client capacity ●​ Establish/Restore:
rather than solely restoring person skills. ●​ Remediate person skills (sensorimotor, cognitive, psychosocial)
●​ Individualized Performance: Skills, motivation, and task meaning are via education or task analysis.
unique; performance is unpredictable until observed in context. ●​ Example: Teaching Mary (21, developmental disability) to cook
●​ Application: Assess client’s subjective task value and contextual simple meals using visual recipes.
influences during performance. ●​ Alter:
●​ Dynamic Capacity: Skills/motivation change due to experiences, ●​ Select a context matching client’s current capacity without
illness, or stress. changing person or context.
●​ Application: Use occupational profiles to track evolving interests ●​ Example: Placing Mary in a one-bedroom apartment near
and abilities. community resources to support independence.
●​ Occupations and Roles: Tasks form roles; person-task-context ●​ Adapt/Modify:
transactions define occupational performance. ●​ Modify task or context to match client’s functioning level.
●​ Application: Consider client’s task preferences and role ●​ Example: Simplifying Mary’s recipes for microwave/oven use and
configurations in intervention planning. adding a timer to reduce anxiety.
Key Components (Figure 9-1) ●​ Prevent:
●​ Person: Unique skills/abilities (sensorimotor, cognitive, psychosocial), with ●​ Proactively minimize performance risks through health promotion.
motivation influenced by task meaning and context. ●​ Example: Providing Mary with a visual calendar/app to prompt
●​ Tasks: Objective behaviors to achieve goals, shaped by internal capacity daily chores, reducing dependency.
and external norms/roles; building blocks of occupations. ●​ Create:
●​ Context: ●​ Promote enriching opportunities for optimal performance and
●​ Temporal: Age, developmental stage, life cycle, health status, task quality of life.
duration/frequency. ●​ Example: Suggesting Mary join community activities (cooking
●​ Environmental: class, volunteering) to enhance social engagement.
●​ Physical: Nonhuman elements (e.g., buildings, tools). ●​ Principles: Client-centered, inclusive, complementary strategies targeting
●​ Social: Norms, role expectations, relationships, systems. multiple components, integrated into OTPF3 (AOTA, 2014).
●​ Cultural: Beliefs, customs, laws, opportunities. Research
●​ Performance (Person-Context-Task Transaction): Dynamic interplay ●​ Focus: Applied science, with universal constructs applicable across
affecting performance range, influenced by natural vs. built environments. disciplines.
Key Terms ●​ Key Tool: Sensory Profile validated for infants, toddlers, children, and
●​ Ecology: Transaction between person and context shaping behavior. adults (Brown et al., 2001; Dunn, 1999; Dunn & Daniels, 2002).
●​ Performance Range: Scope of tasks a person can perform based on ●​ Studies:
internal capacity and context. ●​ Teel et al. (1997): EHP-based stroke rehabilitation outcomes.
●​ Human Performance: Outcome of person-task-context transaction. ●​ Bulgren et al. (1997): EHP in adult education/college teaching.
●​ Establish/Restore: Remediate person skills (e.g., teaching new skills). ●​ Brown et al. (2002): Teaching grocery shopping to individuals with
●​ Alter: Select a context matching client capacity. severe mental illness using EHP.
●​ Adapt/Modify: Change task or context to support performance. ●​ Note: Research primarily descriptive, showing EHP’s applicability in diverse
●​ Prevent: Proactively minimize performance risks. settings.
●​ Create: Enhance opportunities for meaningful performance. Summary
●​ Contexts: Cultural, physical, social, temporal, personal, virtual. ●​ Significance: Client-centered, context-focused model promoting inclusion
Function and Dysfunction and social justice, applicable across disciplines.
●​ Function: ●​ Unique Features:
●​ High performance range, enabling participation in preferred ●​ Interdisciplinary use with generic “task” terminology.
occupations/roles matching personal and environmental demands. ●​ Emphasis on context over person remediation.
●​ Indicators: Independence (using supports as needed), competency ●​ Five intervention strategies integrated into OTPF3.
(meeting standards), adaptability to changing demands.
●​ Philosophy: Empowers clients as decision-makers, advocates for systemic
changes to support inclusion.
●​ Impact: Enhances performance through dynamic person-task-context
transactions, suitable for health promotion, remediation, and compensation.
Learning Activities
●​ Key Terms:
●​ Ecology, person variables, tasks, context, human performance,
performance range, establish/restore, alter, adapt/modify, prevent,
create, cultural/physical/social/temporal contexts.
●​ Venn Diagram:
●​ Depict human performance as the outcome of person, environment,
and task interactions.
●​ Pros and Cons of Generic Language:
●​ Pros: Broad applicability, interdisciplinary collaboration.
●​ Cons: May dilute OT-specific focus on occupations.
●​ Theory Analysis Template (Table 9-1):
●​ Title: Ecology of Human Performance.
●​ Focus: Enhance task performance via person-task-context
transactions.
●​ Theorists: Dunn, Brown, McGuigan, Youngstrom, McClain.
●​ Function: High performance range matching personal/environmental
demands.
●​ Dysfunction: Restricted performance due to transactional imbalance.
●​ Change: Alter person, task, or context variables for expedient
outcomes.
●​ Motivation: Client interests and task meaningfulness.
●​ Assessment: Sensory Profile, checklists, occupational profiles;
evaluate person/task/context.
●​ Intervention: Establish/restore, alter, adapt/modify, prevent, create.
●​ Research: Stroke rehabilitation, mental illness, education settings.