As the American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF) is strongly committed to building, executing, and sustaining a long-term strategic commitment to growing research capacity in occupational therapy we're developing a new initiative, PORTAL - Promoting Occupational Therapy Research and Training to Advance Lives. The vision is to create a stable, collaborative and coordinated infrastructure for supporting occupational therapy scientists at all career stages. Hear more from initiative lead,  Elizabeth Skidmore, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, University of Pittsburgh, on the first steps towards the goal.

Universities of Wisconsin-Madison and Milwaukee hosted the 10th Annual Occupational Therapy Summit of Scholars June 16-18. The 2022 OT Research Summit aspired to activate leadership in science so that OT/OS scientists form and lead diverse interdisciplinary research teams to advance occupational therapy, occupational science, and improve quality of life. This year’s program covered work in progress (WIP) projects and presentations from researchers including AOTF grantees, Jewel E Crasta, PhD, OTR/L, Stacey Reynolds, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, Karen Atler, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, Lisa Juckett, PhD, OTR/L, CHT and Erika Kemp, OTD, OTR/L, BCP. Collaborative activated research teams (CART) during the summit were led by various researchers including AOTA STRIDE and past grantee member Simone Gill, AOTF grant winners Susan Magasi, Lauren Little and Lisa Juckett, AOTF award winners Beth Fields, Jessica Kramer, Stefanie Bodison and Ginny Stoffel and AOTF Academy of Research (AOR) members Sherrilene Classen, Tim Wolf and Anita Bundy. The funder presentations included our very own Scientific Program Officer, Satvika Garg, PhD, OTR/L, along with Theresa Cruz, Director, NCMRR, Sharon Chiou, PhD, NIOSH, Grace Hwang, PhD, NSF and Pimjai Sudsawad, ScD, NIDILRR. Please go to www.otsummit.org - 2022 Summit Resources for details of these presentations.

We look forward to next year’s OT Summit at The Ohio State University!

(pictured)“Caregiving: Measurement, Intervention, and Outcomes,” Collaborative Activated Research Team (CART): Beth Fields, Lauren Little & Timothy Dionne

Great news from our 2019 Health Services Research Grant recipient, Teal Benevides, PhD, MS, OTR/L, Augusta University!

Her groups first paper that came out of their grant work, Publicly Insured Utilization & Costs of Care Among Adults on the Autism Spectrum, was just name one of the Top 20 Advances in Autism Biomedical and Services Research, as selected by members of the US. Department of Health and Human Services, NIH, Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC):

Racial and ethnic disparities in benefits eligibility and spending among adults on the autism spectrum: A cohort study using the Medicare Medicaid Linked Enrollees Analytic Data Source. Benevides TW, Carretta HJ, Rust G, Shea L. PLoS One. 2021 May 25;16(5). [PMID: 34032811]. Disparities in dual eligibility for Medicaid and Medicare benefits across race and ethnicity in autistic adults contribute to disparities in access to services. Read more

I am very grateful for AOTF and your support of OT researchers! Thank you for believing in this work. 

AOTF 2023 Health Services, Implementation and Intervention Research Grants will open this summer.  

Calling for Volunteers!  The AOTF Scholarship Selection Committee has openings for Reviewers (especially Clinicians!) to read, review, and score applications submitted for AOTF Scholarships. The bulk of active committee work typically takes place between November - February annually.  Interested?  Contact Careen Carlton at CCarlton@aotf.org by Sept. 1, 2022.