Congratulations to our 2023 Intervention Research Grant Recipients:

Emily Kringle, PhD, OTR/L, University of Minnesota
duoABLE: Feasibility of a Behavioral Activation-based Intervention to Reduce Sedentary Behavior Among People with Stroke and Their Support Persons
Mentor: Beth Lewis, PhD

Andrea Fairman, PhD, MOT, OTR/L, CPRP, ATP, Johnson & Wales University
Clinical Efficacy of CO-OP And Mhealth to Support Self-catheterization In Youth with Spina Bifida
Mentor: Douglass Clayton, MD

Mark Hardison, PhD, OTR/L, University of New Mexico
Assessing the Feasibility of the Restorative Occupational Approaches for Disordered Eating (ROADE) Program
Mentor: Catana Brown, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA

Kelle DeBoth, PhD, OTR/L, Cleveland State University Ohio
Building Resilience and Social-emotional Skills in Under-resourced Preschoolers with History of Trauma
Mentor: Susan Bazyk, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA

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.  

Analysis, Refinement, and Implementation: Emphasizing Practical Implementation of Functional Cognitive Assessments 
Mentor: Dorothy Farrar-Edwards, PhD 

Congratulations to our inaugural 2022 Bonita Kraft Occupational Therapy Doctoral Student Scholarship Awardee, Janell Pisegna, MOT, OTR/L, The Ohio State University, Examination of Poststroke Occupational Therapy Mental Health Care in Inpatient Rehabilitation

The Bonita Kraft Occupational Therapy Doctoral Student Scholarship supports an occupational therapist doctoral candidate in pursuing research in the areas of mental health and serious mental illness.

Bonita Kraft is an occupational therapist who spent 45 years working in community mental health. She has long been an advocate for OT and mental health; passionate about promoting the need for occupational therapy to be a part of mental health services and treatment as well as for building evidence for occupational therapists to use in practice. Bonita is a proud alum of San Jose State University (BSOT), has been a dedicated volunteer for AOTF, The California Foundation for Occupational Therapy, the Occupational Therapy Association of California as well as a long-time member of AOTA. She is excited to support the next generation of OT scientists with this scholarship who will add new knowledge to the profession and better serve those with severe mental illness and mental health issues.

Please make a gift to help us support the future of OT, strengthen evidence-based practice and improve the quality of care. Your generosity will secure this scholarship for generations of OTs.