OTD Students Present Research

Forty-seven students in the direct-entry and post-professional Doctor of Occupational Therapy programs presented their research at the annual Occupational Therapy Scholarship Day on May 11. The graduating students presented on subject areas that included advocacy, children and youth, education, mental health and cognition, physical rehabilitation, and technology and emerging practice. 

“It is so exciting for the students, faculty mentors, and community partners, as well as family and friends, to see and hear the culmination of a several years of hard work in these presentations,” said Professor Dr. Diane Smith, the department’s doctoral capstone coordinator. “Dissemination of these doctoral capstone and innovation projects provides evidence to address issues that face individuals across the lifespan to increase participation in those occupations that are meaningful. It is such a privilege to be a part of such an important event and we are so proud of all of our students.”

Advocacy

• Advocacy for the unmet needs of children and families experiencing homelessness: A case example in Massachusetts - Mary O’Donnell, MS, OTR/L, Post-Professional OTD Program (Mentor: Dr. Sarah McKinnon)
• Everybody Works: A CDT informed post-secondary business course for disability inclusion practices - Whitney McWherter Cranna, MS, OTR/L, Post-Professional OTD Program (Mentor: Dr. Sarah McKinnon)
• Creating a graduate school culture that fosters success and resilience in health science students with disabilities – Kira Kearney (Mentor: Dr. Diane Smith)
• Barriers and facilitators of using the MBTA call boxes for persons with disabilities – Emma Larson (Mentor: Dr. Diane Smith)
• Occupational therapy's role in working with adolescents with disabilities in the justice system – Jessica Fogal (Mentor: Dr. Diane Smith)
• Promoting sustainable and equitable transportation in Cambridge, Massachusetts – Renée Salois (Mentor: Dr. Diane Smith)

Children and Youth I

• Let’s Get Down to Data: Systematic progress monitoring in school-based practice – Tara Mansour, MS, OTR/L, Post-Professional OTD Program (Mentor: Dr. Leanne Yinusa-Nyahkoon)
• The perceived barriers and facilitators related to accessing Early Intervention services in Massachusetts – Stefanie Johnston (Mentor: Dr. Cathy Leslie)
• Development of program for Head Start teachers to support gross motor skills – Katie Kesler (Mentor: Dr. Cathy Leslie)
• Mindfulness for children & youth receiving care across the MGB network – Meghan Costello (Mentor: Dr. Emily Eddy)
• The prevalence of co-occurring psychiatric and sensory processing disorders in children with ASD – Kaitlin Dierksheide (Mentor: Dr. Mary Beth Kadlec)
• The development of the Occupational Performance Coding System (OPCS) applied to children with ASD, their caregivers and OT – Zoe Kershner (Mentor: Dr. Mary Beth Kadlec)

Children and Youth II

Measuring the health literacy accessibility of Head Start’s written materials – Neelam Patel (Mentor: Dr. Cathy Leslie)

• The association of caregiver stress and child behavior in families with children with disabilities living in Jordan – Joy Ko (Mentor: Dr. Rawan Alheresh)
• The associations between socioeconomic status and caregiver stress among families with children with disabilities residing in Jordan – Tri Vo (Mentor: Dr. Rawan Alheresh)
• Functional performance of children with disabilities living in Jordan – Megan Young (Mentor: Dr. Rawan Alheresh)
• Stress relief techniques on stress and quality of life in urban youth with asthma: A case study – Kylie Nee (Mentor: Dr. Emily Eddy)
• Using mindful yoga to reduce stress and improve social-emotional regulation in at-risk urban youth participating in substance misuse – Haley Willis (Mentor: Dr. Emily Eddy)

Education

• Increasing BIPOC OT student self-efficacy, sense of belonging and leadership skills: Guidelines to support the development of a BIPOC OT student mentorship program – Gabriella Vasquez, MS, OTR/L, Post-Professional OTD Program (Mentor: Dr. Leanne Yinusa-Nyahkoon)
• Building knowledge and bridges to enhance interprofessional collaboration between nurses and occupational therapists – Sadie Richardson, OT, MOT, OTR/L, Post-Professional OTD Program (Mentor: Dr. Kathryn Ellis)
• Identified needs of OT Level II fieldwork students – Melissa Shaw (Mentor: Dr. John Wong/Dr. Mary Evenson)
• Using narrative to enhance anti-oppression principles in interprofessional education – Ariel Lontoc (Mentor: Dr. Midge Hobbs)
• Integration of the RTSS in OTD Academic Curriculum – Hannah Levine (Mentor: Dr. Susan Fasoli)
• Building moral resilience through continuing professional development in ethics – Olivia Rotelle (Mentor: Dr. Regina Doherty)

Mental Health & Cognition

• Conscious Care: A model to improve interprofessional care for individuals with Disorders of Consciousness in the acute hospital setting – Kristen Keech, MS, OTR/L, Post-Professional OTD Program (Mentor: Dr. Jessica Asiello)
• Substance use disorder and occupational therapy: Developing a continuing education podcast – Gregory Laudani (Mentor: Dr. Kimberly Erler)
• Characterizing measures of participation developed with perspectives from persons with brain injury to the ICF – Gabriele Phillips (Mentor: Dr. Emily Evans, Dr. Kimberly Erler)
• Facilitators and barriers to transportation after traumatic brain injury: The impact on participation – Katlyn Weber (Mentor: Dr. Kimberly Erler)
• The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on participation for individuals with traumatic brain injury – Larkin DeVinne (Mentor: Dr. Kimberly Erler)
• Community-based mental health for refugees: A qualitative study to inform intervention development – Sarah Hillegass (Mentor: Dr. Rawan Alheresh)

Physical Rehabilitation I

• THINK-OT: A continuing medical education workshop to improve occupational therapy consults on  the hospital’s medicine service – Colleen Craven, MOT, OTR/L, Post-Professional OTD Program (Mentor: Dr. Jessica Asiello)
• Bridging the knowledge gap: OT and PT intervention for GVHD – Heather Johnson, MSOT, OTR/L, BSOT, CMhlMP, Post-Professional OTD Program (Mentor: Dr. Alix Sleight-Warner)
• Use of RTSS by clinicians to facilitate clinical reasoning – Allison Tokar (Mentor: Dr. Susan Fasoli)
• Implementation of the GRASSP assessment for SCI: Clinician training & intervention planning – Jodie Chickvara (Mentor: Dr. Susan Fasoli)
• The perceived barriers and facilitators of participating in a telehealth mindfulness group for adults with mild traumatic brain injury: A qualitative investigation – Jill Calvani (Mentor: Dr. Mary Hildebrand)
• Participation profiles in the chronic phase of stroke: A latent class analysis – Marina Petrilli (Mentor: Dr. Kimberly Erler, Dr. Perman Gochyyev)

Physical Rehabilitation II

• In the ICU with Jessie Franco: Training competent neuro ICU occupational therapists – Jessie Franco, MS, OTR/L, Post-Professional OTD Program (Mentor: Dr. Kathryn Ellis)
• Stumble Solutions: An Interprofessional Fall Prevention Education Series – Haley Matuszek, MS, OTR/L, Post-Professional OTD Program (Mentor: Dr. Jessica Asiello)
• The Kennedy Center senior services and IHP collaboration: Needs assessment – Trudy Lynch (Mentor: Dr. Mary Hildebrand)
• Experiences of North Carolina farmers with spinal cord injury and pressure ulcers – Lauren Rainone (Mentor: Dr. Mary Hildebrand)
• The impact of symptoms after hospitalization on daily life experiences of Black and Latinx populations with COVID19 – Saskia Darnley (Mentor: Dr. Gaurdia Banister, Dr. Diane Smith/Dr. Mary Evenson)

Technology & Emerging Practice

• Supporting Health for the Long Haul: A self-management approach for work participation for people with Long COVID – Johanna Bardo, MS, OTR/L, Post-Professional OTD Program (Mentor: Dr. Alix Sleight-Warner)
• Emerg-OT: A manual to support development and implementation of occupational therapy presence in the emergency department – Mari Tada, MOT, OTR/L, Post-Professional OTD Program (Mentor: Dr. Sarah McKinnon)
• Using narrative to enhance student understanding of climate health and foster shared values in interprofessional education – Bridget Carroll (Mentor: Dr. Midge Hobbs)
• Program evaluation of lactation support resources at MGH – Gabriella Coyne (Mentor: Dr. Amanda Mack/Dr. Mary Hildebrand)
• Program evaluation of an OT-led prenatal breastfeeding group – Jacayia Austin-Cuartas (Mentor: Dr. Amanda Mack/Dr. Mary Hildebrand)
• Developing a telehealth treatment manual for cognitive strategy training and upper extremity rehabilitation after stroke – Grace Moran (Mentor: Dr. Susan Fasoli)