Everyday Evidence
Everyday Evidence presents research straight from the source by featuring interviews with experts in the field of occupational therapy. Each episode is designed to summarize research, highlight why it is important to consider for practice, and emphasize how to translate evidence to interventions. Publications and resources, including AOTA systematic reviews, practice guidelines, and official documents are discussed in a conversational way with a focus on real-life examples and the experiences of featured guests.
From Focus Group to Chicken Nugget with Dr. Britt St. John
In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Britt St. John (PhD, MPH, OTR/L), occupational therapist, Fulbright Scholar, and researcher at the University of Washington whose work bridges family health, autism research, and food science.
Britt shares the remarkable story behind her “From Focus Group to Chicken Nugget” project, a participatory research collaboration that began with focus-group conversations among autistic adults about sensory preferences and safe foods and evolved into the development of a hybrid-protein, sensory-modified chicken nugget.
Previous Podcasts
-
Occupational Therapy in Primary Care with Dr. Sue Dahl-Popolizio
Date: May 2025
How does occupational therapy fit into the primary care puzzle? In this episode, Dr. Sue Dahl-Popolizio shares her vision and experience on integrating occupational therapy into primary care teams. From managing chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension to improving outcomes for patients with musculoskeletal and mental health concerns, this conversation explores the expanding role of OT in upstream, preventative care. Dr. Dahl-Popolizio unpacks the functional outcomes, cost savings, and workflow benefits of having OT in primary care settings. She also shares strategies for overcoming cultural and systemic barriers, practical documentation and billing tips, and real-world case examples that highlight the value of OT’s holistic lens.
How Occupational Therapy Can Contribute to the Primary Care Team and Reduce Burden
Occupational Therapy in Primary Care- Barriers, Pivots, and Outcomes: A Pilot Study
Developing Tailored Program Proposals for Occupational Therapy in Primary Care
3D Printing and OT's Role in Assistive Technology
Date: April 2025
How can occupational therapy practitioners expand their role in assistive technology development, and what does 3D printing have to do with it? In this episode of Everyday Evidence, we're joined by Bill Janes, OTD, MSCI, OTR/L, whose work as an occupational therapist, researcher, and assistive tech advocate explores the intersection of 3D printing, client-centered care, and the PEOP framework. Together, we explore the potential of 3D printing to transform how occupational therapy practitioners approach problem-solving in assistive technology, offering customizable, affordable, and innovative solutions that can meet unique client needs in real time. We discuss practical examples, lessons from an ALS clinic collaboration, and recent research that demystifies the design process and challenges assumptions about cost and feasibility.
From Makerspaces to Practice: 3D Printing Expansion to Improve Assistive Technology
Post Concussion Syndrome
Date: February 2025
On today's episode, we delve into the pressing issue of concussions and their often-overlooked aftermath. Anna E. Boone, PhD, OTR/L, MSOT, CBIS, and Whitney Henderson, MOT, OTR/L, OTD, share their expertise and discuss the staggering number of individuals who sustain concussions each year in the U.S., many of whom remain undiagnosed or lack access to follow-up care and rehabilitation services. While much attention has been focused on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), we shine a light on those experiencing post-concussion syndrome (PCS) with mild persistent symptoms that hinder their daily lives. This episode emphasizes occupational therapy practitioners' critical role in evaluating and intervening in these cases, particularly regarding high-level instrumental activities of daily living, work, school, and social participation.
Anna E. Boone Research Profile
Whitney Henderson Research Profile
Patient Safety
Date: January 2025
In today's episode, we speak with Emily Barr, OTD, MBA, OTR/L, BCG, about patient safety and some of the research and advocacy efforts she has been involved in as the Executive Director at the Nebraska Coalition for Patient Safety. She describes occupational therapy's distinct role in addressing patient safety and provides recommendations for students, clinicians, educators, and advocates to improve patient safety standards, reduce healthcare costs, and improve patient outcomes.
National Quality Forum Focus on Harm Project
-
Occupation-Based Treatment in Orthopedic Settings
Date: December 2024
On today's episode, we speak with Renee Causey-Upton. Renee is the Associate Chair/Graduate Program Coordinator and an Associate Professor at Eastern Kentucky University. She shares clinical recommendations for occupation-based treatment in orthopedic settings and describes the research she has conducted and mentored related to pre and post-operation interventions for total knee replacement surgery.
AOTA Practice Guidelines for Musculoskeletal Conditions
AOTA CE: Occupational Therapy for Orthopedic Recovery in Acute Care
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
Telehealth Handwriting Interventions
Date: October 2024
Today we are joined by Dr. Denise Donica and Dr. Jana Cason to discuss occupational therapy and telehealth handwriting interventions. They share experiences and recommendations to help OT professionals understand and implement best practices for telehealth service delivery while addressing handwriting.
Rehabilitation Treatment Specification System (RTSS)
Date: September 2024
Today we are joined by Susan Fasoli. In addition to being an active member of AOTA and the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, Susan is a Professor Emerita of occupational therapy at MGH institute of health professions where she has conducted, published, and disseminated research related to robot assisted therapy and cognitive skills training, the importance of interprofessional collaboration, and the rehabilitation treatment specification system (RTSS). She shares information related to RTSS and gives recommendations on how students, practitioners, educators, and researchers can enhance their practice by applying the RTSS.
American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM)
ACRM- Rehabilitation Treatment Specification Networking Group
Habits and Wellness in Psychiatric Neuro Rehabilitation
Date: August 2024
On today's episode we are joined by Sam Troia and Michael Tambone. We discuss their research and work in contributing to holistic approaches to care for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness. They share evidence backed and innovative approaches to care for this population and give recommendations on how to improve health and well-being outcomes by enhancing individual’s habits and routines.
Teach Recovery: Let's Talk about Cognitive Health
Mapping Mental Health: Dr. Swarbrick & The Eight Wellness Dimensions
AOTA Practice Guidelines for Adults Living With and Beyond Cancer
Date: June 2024
On today's episode, we are joined by Robin Newman and Katie Polo. We discuss their research and work in contributing to the Occupational Therapy Practice Guidelines for Adults Living With and Beyond Cancer. They share evidence included in the guidelines and give recommendations on how to improve the OT process when working with adults living with and beyond cancer across the care continuum.
Occupational Therapy Practice Guidelines for Adults Living With and Beyond Cancer
Cancer and Occupational Therapy
AOTA Practice Guidelines for Autistic Individuals
Date: May 2024
On today's episode we are joined by Kristie Patten, Stephen Shore, and Kavitha Murthi. We discuss their research and work in contributing to the upcoming Occupational Therapy Practice Guidelines for Autistic Individuals Across the Lifespan. They give recommendations on how to improve the OT process when working with autistic individuals, conduct inclusive and meaningful research, and discuss the limitations of current research and practice perspectives.
Occupational Therapy Practice Guidelines for Autistic People Across the Lifespan
Applications of Artificial Intelligence in OT Practice
Date: April 2024
On today's episode we are joined by Ganesh Babulal and Sarah Brzeszkiewicz. We discuss their work and research related to integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into OT practice. They give recommendations on how to use artificial intelligence to enhance occupational therapy services for clients and provide examples and summaries of how AI can be applied to older adults.
AOTA Webinar on Artificial Intelligence
Activating Behavior for Lasting Engagement (ABLE)
Date: March 2024
On today's episode we are joined by assistant professor and director of the Disability and WELLness laboratory at the University of Minnesota, Emily Kringle. We discuss her work on developing the ABLE and duoABLE projects, which are behavioral activation-based interventions aimed to reduce post-stroke sedentary behavior through engagement in meaningful daily activities.
Stroke Rehabilitation: Development and Feasibility of a Sedentary Behavior Intervention for Stroke
AJOT: Activating Behavior to Reduce Sedentary Behavior After Stroke
Clinical Psychology Review: What is Behavioral Activation?
Restorative Occupational Approaches for Disordered Eating
Date: February 2024
On this episode, we speak with Mark Hardison about OT and eating disorders. He details a 2023 intervention research grant for “Assessing the Feasibility of the Restorative Occupational Approaches for Disordered Eating” (ROADE) Program.
Contact Mark about his research
UCLA MARC Free Guided Meditations
Mindfulness Institute for Emerging Adults Free Guided Meditations
Early Childhood Competencies
Date: January 2024
On this episode we speak to Mary Beth Bruder, Professor of Public Health Sciences and Health Promotion, Pediatrics, and Educational Psychology at UConn and The Director of Evidence-Based Practice at AOTA, Susan Cahill. We discuss Early Childhood Intervention, comprehensive systems of personnel development, and best practices for interdisciplinary care.
Additional resources:
-
AOTA Practice Guidelines for Alzheimer's Disease
Date: December 2023
On this episode we speak with Stacy Smallfield and Liz Metzger, the co-authors of the Occupational Therapy Practice Guidelines for Adults Living with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Neurocognitive Disorders. We discuss the research, case studies, and clinical recommendations included in the practice guidelines and they provide recommendations to help all practitioners enhance their practice when working with this population.
50 Studies Every Occupational Therapist Should Know
Date: November 2023
On this episode we speak with Beth Pyatak and Elissa Lee, who co-edited a book in the 50 studies Every Doctor Should Know series, 50 Studies Every Occupational Therapist Should Know. We discuss seminal research included in the book and they provide tips, tricks, and recommendations to help all practitioners find, consume, and apply evidence to practice.
Journal of Acute Care Occupational Therapy
Date: October 2023
On this episode we speak with Hannah Oldenburg and Jennifer Bergstrom, the founders of the Journal of Acute Care Occupational Therapy. They share the story of starting the journal and provide recommendations for practitioners to consume and apply evidence to enhance their practice.
Additional Resources:
Journal of Acute Care Occupational Therapy
The Transformative Justice Initiative
Date: September 2023
On this episode we speak with Dr. Lisa Jaegers about working with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Centers of Excellence for Total Worker Health, founding the Saint Louis University (SLU) Transformative Justice Initiative (TJI), directing the OT Transition and Integration Services (OTTIS) program, and Facilitating the Justice Based Occupational Therapy network. She details how occupational therapy can play a role in the justice system and provides recommendations for practitioners across settings.
Additional Resources:
Transformative Justice Initiative @slu_ottis
Justice-Based Occupational Therapy @ot4justice
Including Caregivers Across the Continuum
Date: August 2023
On this episode, we speak with Beth Fields about her research and efforts that examine the quality, access, and outcomes of caregivers across the continuum of care.
Additional Resources:
University of Wisconsin-Madison Geriatric Health Services Research Lab
Augmented Reality Tool for Home Assessments
Substance Use and Occupational Therapy
Date: July 2023
On today's episode we discuss the March 2023 special issue of the journal Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment on substance use and occupational therapy. Emily Rothman, Amy Mattila, and Deirdre Ryan share information related to occupational therapy's role in working with people effected by substance use disorder and provide evidenced based recommendations for clinical practice, education, and research.
Additional Resources:
Read the articles in Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment
The American Journal of Occupational Therapy Featuring Stacey Reynolds
Date: June 2023
On this episode of Everyday Evidence, we speak with the editor and chief of the American Journal of Occupational Therapy, Stacey Reynolds. We talk all things AJOT, discuss the state of the science within occupational therapy, and she shares recommendations on how you can get involved and improve your own consumption and application of research to practice.
Additional Resources:
TBI Practice Guidelines
Date: May 2023
On this episode we discuss the Occupational Therapy Practice Guidelines for Adults with traumatic brain injury and the work Dr. Steven Wheeler and Dr. Amanda Acord-Vira do conducting research related to TBI at West Virginia University.
Additional Resources:
Previous guidelines available in the AOTA store
A Multi-site Quality Improvement Project
Date: April 2023
On this episode we are joined by Taelor Coyle and Kelly Tanner who were part of a multi-site quality improvement project titled “Implementing Parent Coaching in Occupational Therapy for Young Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Multi-Site Project.” We discuss their project, outcomes, and strategies for implementing quality improvement initiatives.
Additional Resources:
Occupational Therapy Practice Guidelines for Early Childhood: Birth through 5 years
The Early Childhood Coaching Handbook
Ready to Learn and Play Sensory Regulation Framework
Date: March 2023
On this episode we speak with Amanda Newchok and Erin O'Hara about the Ready to Learn and Play sensory regulation framework. We discuss the "why's" of sensory based intervention, how they developed this framework to make sensory regulation accessible and understandable to clients and caregivers, and how to share your OT magic with clients to facilitate regulation and improved occupational performance.
Additional Resources:
Ready to Learn and Play website
Finding our Strengths and Recognizing Professional Bias featuring Kristie Patten
Date: February 2023
On this episode we speak with Kristie Patten, the 2022 Eleanor Clarke Slagle award recipient and the Vice Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of occupational therapy at NYU. We discuss her research and implications for practice related to autism.
Additional Resources:
Neurodiversity Strengths checklist from this book
Interventions for Caregivers of People with Stroke Systematic Review featuring Mary Hildebrand and Amanda Mack
Date: January 2023
On this episode we speak with Dr. Mary Hildebrand and Dr. Amanda Mack about the Systematic Review addressing the question “What is the evidence for the effectiveness of interventions within the scope of occupational therapy practice for caregivers of people who have had a stroke that facilitate maintaining participation in the caregiver role?”. We discuss principles and implications of caregiver interventions and the evidenced related to their implementation to promote increased health and well-being for patients and caregivers.
Additional Resources: