Kellie Sawyer, OTD, OTR/L, associate program director and assistant professor, has been appointed to the American Occupational Therapy Foundation’s (AOTF) Standing Committee for Research Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (STRIDE) Committee. The STRIDE committee was established to diversify the field of occupational therapy research. It addresses the urgent need to broaden representation in research by pairing promising graduates and clinicians with established researchers across the country and provides financial support and educational resources to succeed.
Sawyer's appointment aligns perfectly with her recent academic work, which focuses on reducing healthcare disparities. In partnership with Patrick Corr, EdD, the program director for Integrative Medicine and assistant professor of clinical research and leadership, Sawyer recently published a study in the Occupational Therapy In Health Care journal. Their paper, “Exploring Implicit Bias in Occupational Therapy: A Qualitative Study of Practitioner Awareness and Strategies for Change,” examines how aware OT practitioners are of their own implicit biases and offers practical strategies to ensure more equitable care.
