Screen of Cancer Survivorship-Occupational Therapy Services (SOCS-OTS)
What It Measures
The Screen of Cancer Survivorship-Occupational Therapy Services (SOCS-OTS) is a 20-question checklist that adults living with and beyond cancer fill out themselves. Using a check-all-that-apply format, it covers basic and instrumental activities of daily living, rest and sleep, leisure, social participation, health management, education, and work. Checking three or more problems signals a conversation with the care team about whether an occupational therapy referral is needed.
The SOCS-OTS was built for the whole oncology teams, including nurses, physicians, social workers, and occupational therapy practitioners. It is designed to be given routinely before appointments, alongside standard distress screens, instead of only after a problem becomes obvious. Its content was developed and validated through a Delphi study with expert panelists who had lived experience of cancer.
Further Reading
Additional Notes
Licensing Notes: The SOCS-OTS is distributed free of charge by its developer, Katie Polo, OTD, at the University of Indianapolis. Access requires completing a short registration form, after which the tool and related resources may be used freely in practice. Registered users may be contacted by the developer for future research.
