Responding to Society’s Post-pandemic Occupational Needs (ReSPONs) initiative

Society is simultaneously being confronted by multiple global challenges, including COVID-19, widening social and economic inequalities, and disruptions to health and participation that are affecting all aspects of life. People worldwide, including in Los Angeles, are struggling to cope with the physical, mental, social, emotional and economic impacts of these intersecting and persistent challenges, which have led to occupational disruptions in the lives of individuals, families and communities. These impacts will continue to be experienced during the transition to post-pandemic life and will likely persist for many years to come.

USC Chan’s new three-year, $2.5 million initiative — known as Responding to Society’s Post-pandemic Occupational Needs (ReSPONs) —— addresses the intersection of these complex societal challenges by advancing innovation across the division’s research, education, and practice enterprises. It is responsive to goals across four priority areas:

1. Strengthening the division’s commitment to inclusive excellence and opportunity to create a more accessible, welcoming, and supportive environment for all students, staff, and faculty. Specific activities will include an increase in the number of Vision Scholarships, training in belonging and restorative practices, and the establishment of collaborative stakeholder councils.
2. Investing in pedagogical innovation across the division’s curricula to sustain alternative fieldwork models in role-emerging settings and create new courses in the entry-level OTD program that address post-pandemic needs. Specific activities will include the infusion of inclusive and evidence-informed teaching practices throughout all curricula.
3. Establishing a division seed grant mechanism and post-doctoral fellowships that jump-start post-pandemic research and leverage large-scale extramural funding. Specific activities will include the provision of seed grants up to $50,000 to support early-stage projects or research innovations addressing communities most affected by pandemic-related challenges, and the creation of post-doctoral fellowships.
4. Accelerating the division’s knowledge mobilization efforts related to post-pandemic recovery to generate scholarly ideas, broaden their use and relevance for stakeholders and spark new practice innovations. Specific activities will include the 2021 USC Chan Occupational Science Symposium and subsequent “think tanks,” supports for wider engagement of community stakeholders, support for publication/writing groups and funding for dissemination efforts within and beyond academia.

USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy

1540 Alcazar Street, CHP 133, Los Angeles, CA 90089-9003

ACOTE accreditation | NBCOT certification

The USC entry-level doctorate in occupational therapy (OTD) degree program (cost of attendance) is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education® (ACOTE®) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). The USC entry-level master’s degree program (cost of attendance) is in Accreditation–Inactive status by ACOTE®. View our program’s ACOTE® standards public data. ACOTE® c/o the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.®, 7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E, Bethesda, MD 20814, (301) 652-AOTA, www.acoteonline.org.

Professional program graduates are eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapist administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc.® (NBCOT®), nbcot.org. Program results from the NBCOT can be found online at www.nbcot.org/Educators-Folder/SchoolPerformance.