Faculty/Student Work Published in National Journal

One faculty member and four graduate students from Huntington University’s Doctoral Program in Occupational Therapy wrote an article that was published in the Journal of Occupational Therapy Education (JOTE). JOTE is a peer reviewed journal devoted to publishing research and other relevant information related to occupational therapy and occupational science education.

Dr. Patricia Henton, an associate professor in HU’s Doctoral Program in Occupational Therapy,  and the four students – Megan Butterweck, Jory Swider, Laura Cameron, and Kaylee Marihugh – along with Dr. Kathryn Close, assistant professor and program chair of psychology at the University of the Southwest in New Mexico, and Dr. Laura Gerig, a faculty member in the psychology department at Taylor University, authored “Stress, Mindfulness and Occupational Engagement: A Pilot Study of the HOME Protocol.”

“We are grateful for the collaboration of faculty and students from Huntington University's Doctoral Program in Occupational Therapy for the creation of the ‘Huntington Occupational Mindfulness and Engagement (HOME) Protocol,’” said Henton.

According to Henton, the idea for the project came through occupational therapy students who identified a need for strategies for stress management during graduate school. The topic was first explored through a research study, “Perceptions of Stress, Mindfulness, and Occupational Engagement Among Graduate-level Occupational Therapy Students,” which was published in 2021.

“The HOME Protocol was originally developed through collaboration between occupational therapy and psychology faculty,” said Henton. “A pilot study of the HOME Protocol demonstrated its effectiveness for decreasing stress and promoting engagement in daily activities of occupational therapy students.” 

The abstract states that stress and disengagement from meaningful occupations are barriers graduate students face daily and this study aims to investigate the effectiveness of the nine-minute Huntington Occupational Mindfulness and Engagement (HOME) protocol for occupational therapy (OT) graduate students to re-engage in meaningful occupations.

The article has also been presented at state and national conferences for occupational therapy. To access the full article, visit https://encompass.eku.edu/jote/vol7/iss2/4.