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Health and Empowerment Action (HEAL)

Health Core ⟩

The Health and Empowerment Action (HEAL) Lab, directed by Dr. Joy Agner, focuses on improving health systems and services for underserved populations, such as racial minorities, people in poverty, and individuals with chronic disability or severe mental illness, using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach.

Current research projects within HEAL include:

• Examining the impact of care coordination and integrated care on health and quality of life for individuals with multiple, complex health needs
• Understanding how peer support networks, such as those fostered within mental health Clubhouses, impact health literacy, health outcomes, and quality of life
• Advancing theory on cultural humility in occupational science and the use of culturally-informed models to promote health equity among racial minorities, such as Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders
• Advancing theory on empowerment and disempowerment in medical systems, from both individual and structural perspectives

HEAL research utilizes both qualitative and quantitative methods, including innovative methods such as Photovoice and social network analysis. Based on the CBPR model, research within HEAL is shaped through ongoing collaboration with community partners, from question development to dissemination, and aims to provide a meaningful and empowering experience for lab members and community partners alike.

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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). The USC entry-level OTD degree program (cost of attendance) has been granted Candidacy Status by ACOTE. View our program’s ACOTE standards public data. ACOTE c/o Accreditation Department, American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.®, 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200, North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929, (301) 652-6611 x2914, acoteonline.org

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.