Taylor, Renee R, Kielhofner, Gary W · Occupational therapy in health care · 2003 · DOI
This study explains how occupational therapists can better help people with ME/CFS by using a structured approach called the Model of Human Occupation. This framework helps therapists understand how the condition affects a person's motivation, daily habits, roles, and ability to do activities they care about. The paper provides practical guidance and a real-world example of how to assess and treat ME/CFS patients using this approach.
This study is important because occupational therapy is rarely discussed in ME/CFS literature, despite the condition's severe impact on daily functioning and work capacity. By providing a structured assessment and treatment framework, this paper helps fill a significant gap and encourages occupational therapists to develop expertise in managing ME/CFS. Better occupational therapy approaches could improve quality of life and functional outcomes for patients.
This study does not provide empirical evidence that occupational therapy using the MOHO framework improves outcomes in ME/CFS patients—it is a descriptive, theory-based paper rather than a controlled trial. It does not establish whether this approach is more effective than other rehabilitation methods. The single case study cannot be generalized to the broader ME/CFS population.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Taylor, Renee R & Kielhofner, Gary W (2003). An occupational therapy approach to persons with chronic fatigue syndrome: part two, assessment and intervention.. Occupational therapy in health care. https://doi.org/10.1080/J003v17n02_05
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-taylor-2003-occupational-therapy,
author = {Taylor, Renee R and Kielhofner, Gary W},
title = {An occupational therapy approach to persons with chronic fatigue syndrome: part two, assessment and intervention.},
journal = {Occupational therapy in health care},
year = {2003},
doi = {10.1080/J003v17n02_05},
note = {PubMed: 23944638},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/taylor-2003-occupational-therapy},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/taylor-2003-occupational-therapy
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.