Congratulations to our 2022 Health Services Research Grant Recipients:

Adam Kinney, PhD, OTR/L, University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine
Access to Occupational Therapy Services among Veterans receiving Inpatient Psychiatric Care in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA)
Mentor: Lisa Brenner, PhD

Lauren Little, PhD, OTR, Rush University
Disparities and Costs of Access to Early Intervention Occupational Therapy Services
Mentor: Scott Tomchek, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA

Health Services Research (HSR) examines how people get access to health care, how and what care is delivered, the cost of that care, and what happens to patients as a result of receiving or not receiving care.  Specifically, HSR is a multidisciplinary field that studies how social factors, financing systems, organizational structures and processes, health technologies, and personal behaviors affect access to health care, the quality and costs of health care, and ultimately, the health and well-being of health care consumers. 

The Health Services Research Grant program is made possible through a generous donation from NBCOT.

Learn more about the HSR Grant

Congratulations to our 2022 Intervention Research Grant Recipients:

Megan Chang, PhD, OTR/L, MS, San Jose State University
Use of a Telehealth Approach to Build Resilience in Parents of Children with Autism through Mindfulness Practice
Mentor: Laurie Drabble, PhD

Erika Kemp, OTD, OTR/L, BCP, The Ohio State University
Determining Efficacy and Active Ingredients of the AquOTic program for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Mentor: Amy Darragh, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA

Kendra Heatwole Shank, PhD, OTR/L, CAPS, Towson University
MCI Intervention for Out-of-Home Participation: Aging, Cognition, & Meaningful Engagement (ACME) 
Mentor: Malcolm Cutchin, PhD 

Alix Sleight, PhD, OTD, MPH, OTR/L, Cedars-Sinai
The RISE (Re-Invent, Integrate, Strengthen, Expand) Occupation-Based Self-Management Program for Cancer Survivors: A Feasibility Study 
Mentor: Pamela Roberts PhD, OTR/L, SCFES, FAOTA, CPHQ, FNAP, FACRM

Victoria Wilburn, DHSc, OTR, FAOTA, Indiana University Indianapolis
Utilizing Ecological Momentary Assessment with Adolescents Attending a Recovery High School y
Mentor: Brandon Sorge, PhD

The purpose of this grant program is to lay the necessary groundwork for larger intervention studies and for larger implementation studies and support the profession’s Vision 2025 of occupational therapy as an evidence-based profession. The intent of the IRG program is to provide seed funding for the development of new and/or novel ideas in order to generate preliminary data as proof of concept. Most larger funders, including federal sources and most of the major nonprofit foundations, require this data in order to apply to them, yet sources to fund this preliminary work are limited at best. The AOTF IRG occupies a very important niche and fills a critical gap by investing in the development of ideas and data in the early state of the occupational therapy research enterprise. 

The Intervention Research Grant program receives donations from the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) and the AOTF St. Catherine Challenge.  

Congratulations to the 2022 Implementation Research Grant Recipients:

Anna Boone, PhD, MSOT, OTR/L, CBIS, University of Missouri
Analysis, Refinement, and Implementation: Emphasizing Practical Implementation of Functional Cognitive Assessments
Mentor: Dorothy Farrar-Edwards, PhD

Janet Njelesani, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, New York University
Implementing an Occupational Therapy Intervention to Support Young Caregivers
Mentor: Aimee James, PhD, MPH, MA

Jennifer Weaver, PhD, MA, OTR/L, BS, CBIS, Colorado State University
Identifying Implementation Strategies to Facilitate Adoption of a Recovery Ruler in Clinical Practice
Mentor: Trudy Mallinson, PhD

Videos of their research coming soon!

The IR grant specifically supports research that is focused on helping occupational therapists take evidence-informed practice from theory to reality in their practice setting. This research grant develops and evaluates the processes used to implement, sustain, and or scale-up evidence-based practice into routine care with an end goal to improve the quality and effectiveness of care.

Learn more about the IR Grant.

Natalie Leland is Associate Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Occupational Therapy within the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh.  Her interdisciplinary research program is focused on improving quality of care, optimizing desired patient outcomes, and mitigating health disparities.

Her research portfolio reflects the mutual integration of her health services research, implementation science, gerontology, and occupational training.  Her work is known for quantifying care delivery and patient outcomes, capturing stakeholder perspectives on best practice and interdisciplinary care, responding to evidence needs of providers, and advancing the methodology evidence-base for stakeholder engagement.  Dr. Leland’s research portfolio is recognized both internationally and nationally for championing stakeholder engagement throughout the research process to address meaningful clinical and policy-relevant questions intended to improve the lives of vulnerable older adults in post-acute and long-term care.

Timothy Wolf is the Associate Dean for Research, Department Chair, and Professor at the University of Missouri.  The goal of Dr. Wolf’s research is to generate knowledge that will establish the effectiveness of interventions to improve participation in work and community activities after changes in the brain (i.e., neurological injury).  He conducts research with individuals who have functional cognitive deficits after a stroke or who have chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairments.

The two primary objectives of his research laboratory are to:  1) identify and manage cognitive changes (primarily functional cognitive changes) to improve participation after neurological injury; and 2) investigate the efficacy of self-management education and cognitive-strategy training interventions to improve health and participation outcomes after neurological injury.

When people get back to activities that interest and motivate them, their quality of life increases as well; their conditions do not define them as human beings.

Dr. Wolf has collaborated with investigators at University of Missouri, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Toronto, University of Illinois, University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin, University of Washington, St. John’s Rehabilitation Hospital (Toronto), and University of Illinois-Chicago.