Amanda Botticello, PhD, MPH, research scientist in Outcomes & Assessment Research at Kessler Foundation, received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to study the role of environmental factors in rehabilitation outcomes in spinal cord injury. The 3-year grant (4R00HD065957-03) from NIH/ Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development totals $736,216.
This grant addresses disability prevention, a key priority for the fields of medical rehabilitation and public health. The role of community factors in outcomes is understudied in patient-oriented research, according to Dr. Botticello, particularly in medical rehabilitation populations such as spinal cord injury. "This grant will enable us to identify which factors on the community-level threaten the physical, psychological, and social gains achieved during rehabilitation," Dr. Botticello explained. "Lack of resources, socioeconomic disadvantage, and physical inaccessibility are among the factors that may contribute to greater risk for disability and health problems after spinal cord injury."