USC study shows occupational therapy helps diabetes patients make lifestyle changes that can prevent serious health complications
November 8, 2019
The pilot study is the first to be completed under a novel academic-government collaboration between the SC CTSI, the UCLA CTSI, and the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
Chan in the Media Community and Partners Faculty Lifestyle Redesign Research
By Paul Karon / SC CTSI
Associate Professor Beth Pyatak
A USC pilot study has indicated that an occupational therapy intervention can help diabetes patients make the kind of important and long-lasting lifestyle changes that have the potential to substantially improve their health and prevent serious health complications.
USC investigator Beth Pyatak, PhD, OTR/L, CDCES, whose research interests include chronic care management and occupational therapy, tested the Lifestyle Redesign® (LR) occupational therapy intervention Resilient, Empowered, Active Living with Diabetes (REAL Diabetes), developed for adults with diabetes.
The study was as significant for the clinic where it was tested as much as for its findings. In 2016, the Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute (SC CTSI) along with its UCLA CTSI counterpart, and the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (LAC DHS) launched a novel academic-government partnership. Their goal was to find ways that the clinical and translational researchers at the two universities could study and improve care provided by the LAC DHS for hundreds of thousands of Los Angeles County residents. With an annual budget of $5 billion, the LAC DHS is the country’s second-largest public health system, and one of the most diverse.
Read the full article at SC CTSI.
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