Occupational Therapy Student Research Projects

Occupational therapy practitioners are facing increasing pressure to provide interventions that are backed by solid evidence.  As the field of occupational therapy continues to advance, more and more emphasis is being placed on the importance of clinical research and evidence-based practice.  Practitioners must also understand how to critically evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions they use with clients on a daily basis in clinical settings.

Under the educational standards outlined by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE), occupational therapy students are required to demonstrate the skills necessary to design research proposals, implement research studies, and write research reports in a format suitable for presentation or publication.  All students in the Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (MSOT) program at Saginaw Valley State University are required to complete a significant research project during the program.  Students work on these Capstone research projects throughout the duration of the MSOT program.

SVSU MSOT students have received recognition for their research projects at the state, national, and international levels.  The results of MSOT student research projects have been published in national and international journals.  Students have also been invited to present on various clinical and research projects at multiple health care conferences at the local, state, and national levels.

• The Effects of Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy on Hand Function in Individuals with Chronic Hemiparesis

• The Effects of Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy and Modified Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy on Quality of Life among Persons with Chronic Hemiparesis

• Results of Starting a Club Collegiate Wheelchair Basketball Team

• The Effectiveness of Constraint Induced Movement Therapy on Proprioception

• An Aqua Therapy Program for an Individual with Fibromyalgia: An Evidence Based Protocol

• Nintendo Wii: The Effects of Modern Gaming Technology within a Geriatric Population