Latest Chan Division News
Lifestyle Redesign

Life, Redesigned ⟩
August 5, 2026

Chan in the Media Clinical Health and Wellness Lifestyle Redesign

“Nothing has helped me with my anxiety and my depression and my life more than occupational therapy,” says Jennifer Hong, a psychiatrist and Keck School of Medicine of USC psychiatry fellow who has been participating in Lifestyle Redesign, a program supporting students to improve their mental health and everyday lives through meaningful routines.

Lifestyle Redesign is an innovative framework created at USC Chan to coach patients — mostly USC students — to develop daily routines that promote health and wellness. (Illustration/Sam Falconer) By Chinyere Cindy Amobi (USC Today) Several years ago, psychiatrist Jennifer Hong was brutally…

⋯

Randomized study finds Lifestyle Redesign® occupational therapy generated $250,000 in health care savings for primary care patients with diabetes ⟩
July 21, 2026

Health and Wellness Lifestyle Redesign Research

Cost–benefit study finds preventative occupational therapy significantly decreased emergency department visits and hospital stays.

(Adobe Stock) By Sammy Bovitz According to a new randomized study of primary care patients with diabetes, patients who received Lifestyle Redesign® occupational therapy generated more than $250,000 in health care cost savings compared to patients who received usual care alone. Researchers compared…

⋯

The results are in: Lifestyle Redesign® heals patients, wallets alike ⟩
July 7, 2026

Health and Wellness Lifestyle Redesign

Healthier daily routines can mean fewer hospital visits.

Not only is Lifestyle Redesign® beneficial for patients, it also helps reduce the cost of care. The program has been estimated to save over $250,000 in healthcare costs, as a previously spotlighted study found. Patients who received Lifestyle Redesign care for diabetes in the study were found to…

⋯

Bracing for mental health “tsunami” ⟩
January 5, 2024

Health and Wellness Lifestyle Redesign

Tracy Jalaba MA ’14, OTD ’15, associate professor of clinical occupational therapy, co-authored a new op-ed in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy concerning the mental health “tsunami” seemingly engulfing many parts of contemporary American society. “The tsunami metaphor has two…

⋯

Eight faculty authors feature in new primary care textbook ⟩
July 3, 2023

Clinical Faculty Lifestyle Redesign

New text is a definitive resource for all primary care occupational therapy practitioners and those delivering lifestyle-based interventions.

Eight USC Chan faculty members co-authored chapters in Primary Care Occupational Therapy: A Quick Reference Guide, recently published by Springer. The book is a definitive resource for all primary care occupational therapy practitioners and others interested in lifestyle-based interventions for…

⋯

Publication of the Lifestyle Redesign® Manual in Simplified Chinese ⟩
June 6, 2023

Chan in the Media China Initiative International Lifestyle Redesign

After several years of a rigorous translation process, the Simplified Chinese version of the Lifestyle Redesign®: The Intervention Tested in the USC Well Elderly Studies (2nd Edition) is published by the Peking University Medical Press.

Lifestyle Redesign® is an occupational therapy intervention framework developed at USC Chan that improves health and wellness through building healthier lifestyles. The framework was initially researched in the landmark Well Elderly Studies, led by Dr. Florence Clark, former Associate Dean and…

⋯

Pyatak named to NIH study section ⟩
February 1, 2021

Associations and Bodies Faculty Lifestyle Redesign Research

Associate Professor Beth Pyatak has been invited to serve as a member of the Biobehavioral Medicine and Health Outcomes Study Section of the NIH Center for Scientific Review. Her four-year term begins July 1, 2021.

Associate Professor Beth Pyatak Dr. Pyatak’s scholarship focuses on translational research in Lifestyle Redesign®, an occupational therapy intervention framework that promotes awareness of the relationship between daily activities and health, and guides individuals with chronic conditions…

⋯

Making the case for environmentally-informed occupational therapy ⟩
April 22, 2020

Chan in the Media Faculty Lifestyle Redesign

As Earth Day turns 50, Camille Dieterle looks at the future of occupational therapy's approaches to more sustainable living

By Mike McNulty Today marks the 50th anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement. Earth Day was first commemorated on April 22, 1970, in a rare alignment of political will, media attention and student-led grassroots activism. What was originally envisioned as rallying for…

⋯

A “hands-on” approach to teaching ⟩
February 13, 2020

Academics and Courses Clinical Faculty Lifestyle Redesign Students

Janice Rocker, who spends most of her time working in the hand therapy clinic at Keck Hospital of USC, brings her clinical experience to the classroom for OT 562 “Advance Practice in Hand Therapy and Physical Agent Modalities.”

By Kevin Uhrik / HSC News As a student in the entry-level master’s program at USC, I am grateful for the opportunity to be taught and mentored by the clinical faculty members of the Chan Division. The clinical faculty members at USC have a longstanding history of both teaching and clinical…

⋯

Embracing the Unknown ⟩
December 5, 2019

Academics and Courses Lifestyle Redesign Students

Student Ambassador Catherine interviews fellow OTD student Ana Sanchez about her decision to pursue the OTD and her residency at Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) bringing Lifestyle Redesign® services to college students.

Photo courtesy of Ana Sanchez Why did you decide to pursue your OTD? The reason was really simple. I wanted to have the option to teach in the future, and I knew that if I didn’t do the OTD now, I wouldn’t come back to school again. How did you get into your residency? During the summer, I…

⋯