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Stacey Schepens Niemiec | Healthy Aging Research and Technology (HART) Lab

About the HART Lab

Led by Stacey Schepens Niemiec PhD, OTR/L, DipACLM, research in the HART Lab centers on promoting older adult wellness by investigating lifestyle interventions designed to support healthful, meaningful activity engagement and participation in later life. Special emphasis is frequently placed on application of everyday and cutting-edge technology for both assessment and intervention. Tools featured in HART Lab research range from real-time physical activity tracking monitors and smartphone applications to artificial intelligence and telehealth systems. The HART team works closely with stakeholders and older adults in the community, taking a community-based participatory approach to develop evidence-based interventions relevant to the older adult population. Some key studies ongoing in the HART Lab are described below:

• ¡Vivir Mi Vida!
  Rural-living older Latinos are at increased risk of chronic health conditions yet are historically under-resourced. ¡Vivir Mi Vida! (VMV) Lifestyle Redesign® program is a lifestyle intervention that is culturally tailored for aging Latinos who are patients of safety-net primary care clinics in rural regions of California. The intervention is co-delivered, primarily through telehealth, by Lifestyle Redesign-trained occupational therapists and promotores de salud (Latino community health workers). VMV has been developed by the community, for the community, and has undergone studies on its feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy to improve health and well-being outcomes in the aging Latino community. Current research activities include intervention development and refinement (e.g., creation of new modules, improving compatibility with telehealth delivery), as well as community capacity building in preparation for large-scale implementation.
• Offloading Diabetic Foot Ulcers
  Diabetic foot ulcers affect millions of Americans with diabetes, negatively impacting physical function, quality of life, healthcare utilization, and more. In collaboration with the USC Keck Department of Surgery, our interdisciplinary team is taking a community-based participatory approach to developing a Lifestyle Redesign® OT intervention that meets the unique needs of individuals who have to manage diabetic foots ulcers as a part of their everyday life.
• FitSitt Study
  The FitSitt study is a collaborative project with small business Activ Sitting, Inc. Sedentariness in older adults is associated with a number of negative health consequences and poses a significant, costly public health burden. This project works toward making available a convenient, dynamic seating solution — FitSitt — for older adult consumer. This system targets sedentary activity and has potential to help aging individuals live more active, healthier lives.
• Moving Up project
  Our team developed and is presently exploring outcomes from studies that featured Moving Up — a multi-feature app designed to facilitate older adults’ physical activity. Specialty features include messaging that promotes positive views of aging, sedentary activity monitoring with peer-generated suggestions, and activity coaching. Additionally, investigations of an adapted version of Moving Up are underway to address the needs of underactive older adults with mild impairments in cognition.

In addition to the above studies, the HART Lab has other ongoing projects or is actively seeking grant-funding opportunities for a variety of studies aligned with our mission.

About the residency

The OTD resident will be immersed in a variety of HART Lab activities based on the active projects throughout the duration of the residency. Roles and activities may include:

• Project management: Organizing and running team activities and meetings, managing project activities and delegating tasks as appropriate, addressing project communications with participants and stakeholders, coordinating training of lab support staff, and additional project tasks as they arise.
• Participant recruitment/retention: Outreach and recruitment of participants through phone, email, database queries, and community-based activities; retention of participants actively engaged in ongoing research.
• Community partner engagement: Initiate, engage, and develop community partnerships appropriate for the needs of current and potential studies in the lab.
• Data collection/management: Data collection activities range from administration of standardized mobility assessments and self-report questionnaires to database extractions and face-to-face interviews. Data management involves use of software such as Excel, REDCap, and SPSS. Some data analysis may be required.
• Research and academic writing: writing tasks will range from grant proposals and IRB forms to literature reviews and journal publications.

We are looking for an OTD resident who meets the following eligibility criteria:

• Knowledge of and experience and interest in working with older adults
• Interest in participating in all aspects of research ranging from intervention development and data collection to analysis and dissemination
• Comfortable and adept in engaging older adults in-person, by phone communications (both verbal and text), and through virtual means (e.g., Zoom)
• Proficient in utilizing and troubleshooting smart technology and training others to do the same
• Has basic level skills in computer science or engineering that can be applied to creating and programming smartphone app content (not an absolute requirement)
• Willing to travel independently off site to various senior centers and community partner sites across LA

The resident will dedicate 30 hours/week for three consecutive semesters.

Note: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the HART Lab has modified study protocols to largely take place through virtual, telehealth mediums. With the evolving nature of COVID-19, technological progress made over the course of the pandemic, and interest in protecting the health of target participants, current and future studies will primarily be implemented through remote means and will explore the efficacy of such methods within the older adult population.

Financial support

Individuals may apply for competitive division scholarship awards. These scholarships will cover up to 18 units of tuition.

Contact information

For additional information, please contact Dr. Schepens Niemiec at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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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 master’s 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 doctorate in occupational therapy (OTD) degree program (cost of attendance) has applied for accreditation and has been granted Preaccreditation 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. The program must complete an on-site evaluation and be granted Accreditation Status before its graduates will be eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapist administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc.® (NBCOT®).

Professional program graduates are eligible to apply for certification by 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.