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Research Resources
A monthly newsletter of the
AOTF Institute for the Study of Occupation and Health
September 2009
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Dear
Colleagues,
Greetings from the
AOTF Institute for the Study of Occupation and Health, the programmatic
arm of the American Occupational Therapy Foundation, where we continue
to advance research, education, and leadership in the field of
occupational therapy and raise public awareness of the importance of
enabling individuals to participate fully in life regardless of their
physical, social, mental, or developmental circumstances. The AOTF
Institute contributes to this mission through its own research,
education, and leadership programs, through strategic cooperation with
the American Occupational Therapy
Association (AOTA), and through substantial connections to like-minded
organizations within and beyond the fields of occupational therapy and
occupational science.
This issue of Research Resources
offers a spotlight on the AOTF Institute's Dissertation
Research Grant program and two grant recipients who recently
completed their dissertations and have been awarded their doctorates.
Our earlier spotlights on this program appeared in the September
2008 and October
2008 issues of Research
Resources. Profiles of all who have benefited from this
program and have received their doctorates are now available on the AOTF
web site.
The
application deadline for the next funding cycle of the Dissertation Research Grant program - November 1 -- is fast
approaching, so please share this newsletter with interested
colleagues.
When
you visit our site to learn more about the beneficiaries of the AOTF
web site, I hope that you will consider making a donation to
AOTF in support of this initiative and our other programs for
occupational therapy research, education, and leadership. You can make
your contribution directly and securely through our online
donation gateway.
Thank you again
for subscribing to Research
Resources and for encouraging your
colleagues to connect to AOTF through this monthly publication, its
associated news alerts, and through our web
site and our blog.
Please know that we appreciate your support now and always.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey S.
Reznick, PhD
Director, AOTF Institute for the Study of Occupation and Health
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AOTF Institute Spotlight: Dissertation Research Grant
Program
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This month, AOTF is
pleased to spotlight Drs. Shirley Wells, and Pai-chuan
Huang, who recently completed their doctorates with
support from the AOTF Institute's Dissertation Research Grant Program.
 In 2008, the AOTF Institute awarded a Dissertation
Research Grant to Pai-Chuan Huang of Boston University to support his
dissertation entitled "Social Behavior, Gender, and Quality of
Life in Parkinson's Disease." This study included a database
of 104 participants with Parkinson's disease and found that both men
and women with Parkinson's disease who showed less facial
expressiveness were less likely to show rapport during an interview.
Furthermore, results showed gender differences such as women reported
more problems in stigmatization, but men reported more problems in
activities of daily life. These results demonstrate the need to
broaden our knowledge on how compromised social skills might be
associated with people's quality of life, and how gender may affect how
social skills relate to quality of life.
The AOTF Dissertation Research Grant
enabled Huang to acquire books for guiding data analysis, provide
compensation to raters who viewed participants' social behavior during
videotaped interviews, hire a research assistant to assist him with his
work, and attain the supplies required throughout the study. This
support allowed Huang to test a theoretical model linking facial
expressiveness and quality of life in people with Parkinson's disease
while also examining the moderating role of gender. Huang hopes
his research will help occupational therapists tailor interventions to
address the role of social behavior in quality of life. Pai-Chuan
Huang, ScD, OTR is now a member of Health Quality of Life Lab at Tufts
University. He plans to continue exploring themes related to social
behavior, gender, and quality of life in the older population.
Dr. Huang's dissertation can be found in the Wilma L. West
Library: Huang, P.C. (2009). Social
Behavior, gender, and quality of life in Parkinson's disease.
Boston, MA: Boston University.
 In 2007, the AOTF Institute awarded a Dissertation
Research Grant to Shirley A. Wells of the University of Texas Health
Sciences Center at Houston, School of Public Health, to support the
completion of dissertation entitled, "Occupational Performance of
Mexican Americans with End Stage Renal Disease Living on Dialysis in
the Lower Rio Grande Valley." This qualitative study found
that Mexican Americans with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and their
family members engage in activities that contribute positively to their
perception of quality of life as well as mourn the loss of the
activities that are restricted by dialysis. Over time the
dialysis treatment sessions are viewed as just another task of their
everyday life. The findings support the concept of occupational
deprivation by demonstrating that the combination of the ESRD condition
and dialysis process is a barrier to occupational performance. The
conclusion suggests a family-centered approach with a focus on the
lifestyle domains of reciprocal interpersonal relatedness, intrinsic
gratification and societal contribution would enhance the well-being,
improve survival, and increase occupational opportunities for Mexican
Americans and their family members.
The AOTF Dissertation Research Grant was instrumental in
the development and production of a documentary video of three
individuals living with dialysis. It provided the incentives for
15 Mexican Americans with ESRD, 15 family members, and six healthcare
providers to participant in in-depth interviews and the numerous
printing requirements.
Shirley A. Wells, DrPH, OTR, FAOTA, is now chair and associate
professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University
of Texas-Pan American. She hopes to secure funds to translate the
documentary video into Spanish as well as pilot an intervention
program. She plans to continue her research on decreasing
occupational deprivation and improving quality of life for individuals
with ESRD living on dialysis and their families.
Dr. Wells' dissertation can be found in the Wilma L. West
Library: Wells, S.A. (2009). Occupational
Performance of Mexican Americans with End-Stage-Renal-Disease Living on
Dialysis in the Rio Grande Valley, Houston, TX: University
of Texas Health Science at Houston School of Public Health.
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Grant Announcements &
Resources
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NIH's Student Loan Repayment Program
(LRP): New Application Cycle Opens September 1
The LRP's two-year award repays up to $35,000 per year of educational
loan debt for individuals who commit to conducting two years of
qualified biomedical or behavioral research at a nonprofit or
government institution. The five extramural LRPs are Clinical
Research, Pediatric Research, Health Disparities Research,
Contraception and Infertility Research, and Clinical Research for
Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds. The 2010 application
cycle opens September 1 and closes
December 1.
Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation Awards Community Health Leaders
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation established the Community
Health Leaders program to recognize individuals who overcome daunting
obstacles to improve health and health care in their communities,
especially to underserved populations in communities across the
United States. The program aims to elevate the work of these unsung
heroes through enhanced recognition, technical assistance, and new
leadership opportunities. Ten people will be selected to receive
awards of $125,000 (a personal award of $20,000 and $105,000 to
support the work for which the leader is recognized). Brief
nominations are due October
15, 2009.
The
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Corporate Charitable Giving
Program provides support to nonprofit organizations in Louisiana that
focus on the health, education, and wellness needs of their
communities. Grants are provided in the following two specific areas:
The Health category focuses on improving public health, reducing
barriers to care for the uninsured, and conducting research to
prevent or cure disease. The Education category focuses on increasing
health literacy, the training of medical professionals, and the
education of youth (pre-K-16, including after-school programs).
Requests are reviewed quarterly. The last application deadline for
2009 is November
1.
The
Foundation's primary focus is on programs that provide basic needs
services to disadvantaged women, children, and families. Funded
programs should promote strong families, provide emergency shelter,
enhance education/job readiness, and/or build community ties.
Specific grant categories include: Civic/Community, Domestic Violence
Prevention, Education, Health, and Social Services. Applications are
reviewed quarterly; the final application deadline of 2009 is December 4.
The
company's primary focus is children with disabilities, including
programs focusing on health and rehabilitation services, initiatives that
provide greater access to physical movement and play, and public
schools promoting a greater level of inclusion in student activities
and extracurricular programs. In addition, selected grants are
provided to programs that create greater access to healthcare
services for uninsured community residents. Applications may be
submitted from January
1 to October 31 of each year.
The
Kresge Foundation: Safety-net Enhancement Initiative
This is a new grantmaking opportunity that seeks to
foster innovative models of health care delivery among local and
regional providers throughout the United States. The goal of the
initiative is to reduce health disparities and improve the health
outcomes of adults and children living in underserved communities.
This initiative includes two parts: a nine-month program planning and
design phase and a three-year demonstration phase. During the first
phase, planning grants of up to $75,000 will be awarded to a maximum
of 15 applicants. (In the second phase, seven to ten of the phase-one
grant recipients will be selected to receive three-year grants of up
to $750,000 each to fund their proposed demonstration projects.)
Applications for the Safety-net Enhancement Initiative planning
grants are due on November
16, 2009.
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Remember AOTF
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Think of AOTF when you search
the internet or shop online. Use these sites by entering the American
Occupational Therapy Foundation and AOTF benefits from every
search or purchase!
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Join Our List
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Registration Now Open for the Eighth World Congress on Brain Injury
(Washington DC, March 10-14, 2010)
This
Congress will provide an opportunity for establishing
relationships with professionals focused on the care and /or service
of persons with acquired brain injury and /or the science of brain
injury research. State of the art research will be presented
dealing with information spanning from basic science to clinical
(coma to community) aspects of brain injury.There will also be a
post-conference symposium on disorders of consciousness in addition to
workshops on neuropharmacology, neuroethics, controversies in
neuropsychology, visual assessment and rehabilitation, community
reintegration, educational reentry issues, as well as return to
work. The abstract deadline is October 9, 2009. The
deadline for submitting a paper for the Congress is October 12, 2009.
This
conference, organized by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention's National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) and the
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) in
conjunction with the Environmental Health Association, aims to
improve the nation's traditional and nontraditional environmental
health capacity. It also aims to extend the reach of innovative
environmental public health practices by highlighting model and
exemplary efforts addressing current and emerging environmental
health challenges and to provide a forum for NCEH, ATSDR, and its
many partners to share research, scientific, and program information
about environmental public health priorities. Early registration extended to October 9.
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Web-Based & Related
Resources
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Implementing Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate
Services (CLAS) at Every Phase of a Disaster
This
new e-learning program is designed to equip disaster and crisis
volunteers and personnel with the awareness, knowledge, and skills
needed to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services
to diverse communities during all phases of disaster. Throughout the
curriculum, a broad range of skills are introduced, such as: working
with an interpreter, locating translated materials, negotiating
cultural differences, and implementing the CLAS Standards into
organizational policy.
Comprehensive
funding information for NIH grants and contracts is now available on
the NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool (RePORT) Expenditures and
Results, or RePORTER. RePORTER combines NIH project
databases and funding records, PubMed abstracts, full-text articles
from PubMed Central, and information from the US Patent and Trademark
Office with a robust search engine, allowing users to locate
descriptions and funding details on NIH-funded projects along with
research results that cite the NIH support.
New
approaches to rehabilitation are being trialed throughout the world.
This document, (produced by the University of
Birmingham) identifies more than 500 studies of good practice in
community rehabilitation services, staff, and systems that have the potential
to transform the National Health Service in the United Kingdom
and elsewhere and is available on free online.
In
participatory ergonomics (PE) programs, workers, supervisors and
other workplace parties jointly identify and address work-related
hazards. PE can help reduce low-back injuries and other
musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), resulting in fewer workers'
compensation claims and lost days from work. This booklet, which can
be accessed free online, is based on a systematic review
by Institute for Work and Health researchers and outlines
six key steps that have been shown to contribute to the success of a
PE program. Institute for Work & Health, (2009) Reducing MSD Hazards in the
Workplace: A Guide to Successful Participatory Ergonomics Programs.
Toronto: Institute for Work & Health.
Every
article published in The
British Medical Journal since the journal's first
issue in October 1840 is now available online.This project, to create
a free digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal
literature, was masterminded by the US National Center for
Biotechnology Information under the aegis of the US National Library
of Medicine (NLM).
PubMed
Central repository will open new pathway to Canadian health research
The National Research Council's Canada Institute for
Scientific and Technical Information (NRC CISTI), the Canadian
Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the US National Library of Medicine
(NLM) have announced a three-way partnership to establish PubMed
Central Canada (PMC Canada). PMC Canada will be a national digital
repository of peer-reviewed health and life sciences literature,
including research resulting from CIHR funding. This searchable
web-based repository will be permanent, stable and freely accessible.
The initial release of PMC Canada, to be available in fall 2009, will
include a basic bilingual interface, a manuscript submission system
for CIHR researchers, and a bilingual help desk.
Recommended Readings and Selected Presentations
available from NIH Summer Institute on Community-Based Participatory
Research (CBPR) Targeting the Medically Underserved
In
August 2009, the National Institutes of Health sponsored a summer institute
on CBPR. Recommended readings and many of the institute
presentations are now
available online. The institute site also includes links
to a number of CBPR oriented NIH funding announcements, pasted below:
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Publication Announcements
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Ensuring the
Integrity, Accessibility, and Stewardship of Research Data in the
Digital Age
This book examines the consequences of the changes affecting research
data with respect to three issues - integrity, accessibility, and
stewardship - and finds a need for a new approach to the design and
the management of research projects. The report recommends that all
researchers receive appropriate training in the management of
research data, and calls on researchers to make all research data,
methods, and other information underlying results publicly accessible
in a timely manner. This report can be read online for free,.
Committee on Ensuring the Utility and Integrity of Research Data in a
Digital Age (2009) Ensuring
the Integrity, Accessibility, and Stewardship of Research Data in the
Digital Age. Washington, DC: National Academy of
Sciences.
This fully
revised edition of an authoritative guide to science proposal writing
will aide those embarking on a thesis or grant application.
Completely updated and with entirely new chapters on private
foundation funding and interdisciplinary research, the book explains
each step of the proposal process in detail. Friedland,
A.J. & Folt, C.L. (2009) Writing
Successful Science Proposals, Second Edition. New
Haven: Yale Press.
New Report on Comparative Effectiveness Research
Initial
National Priorities for Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) is
designed to assist patients and healthcare providers in making more
informed decisions on diagnosis and treatment options. In this
2009 report, the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Comparative
Effectiveness Research Prioritization establishes a working
definition of CER, develops a priority list of research topics, and
identifies the necessary requirements to support a robust and
sustainable CER enterprise. This report can be read free online.
Committee on Comparative Effectiveness Research Prioritization (2009)
Initial National
Priorities for Comparative Effectiveness Research.
Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
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AOTF Institute Image
of the Month
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The
occupational therapy staff of Brooke Army Hospital, ca. 1945, who
were among the nearly 900 therapists serving in uniform by the end of
World War II.
The
AOTF Institute makes this image, as well as the Guide to the Archives of the
AOTA, available publicly as part of its mission to honor the past
and be the best possible steward of the unique body of knowledge that
is occupational therapy. To this end, the AOTF Institute warmly
welcomes individuals from within and beyond occupational therapy to
explore the guide and use the archives for purposes of research,
education, and leadership.
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AOTF
is concerned about privacy and will only send Research Resources
to those individuals who wish to receive it. If you no longer wish to
receive Research
Resources, or if you feel that you received this
newsletter in error, please use the SafeUnsubscribe link at bottom of
this email. AOTF does not sell email addresses to other
parties.
For
more information about the American Occupational Therapy Foundation
and its Institute for the Study of Occupation and Health see our web
site: www.aotf.org.
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