Pergolotti Receives Grant to Study OT Utilization by Patients with Cancer

Mackenzi Pergolotti, a fourth-year Occupational Science PhD candidate, received a $2,000 NC TraCS grant to help her research the utilization of occupational therapy by older patients with cancer by using data from the Integrative Cancer Information and Surveillance System (ICISS).

Pergolotti is working to better understand the differences in relative rates of OT use across the state and identify areas of variation or disparity among Medicare beneficiaries with incident cancer. This project will be completed in concert with an analysis of the activity participation of older patients with cancer to provide the beginnings of an evidence base from which OT interventions will be designed with knowledge of service utilization, and with a deeper understanding of the social-occupational and situational nature of cancer for older adults.

Pergolotti presented a poster, titled “Occupational Therapy Service for Cancer Patients in North Carolina,” at the 18th Annual National Research Services Award (NRSA) Trainees Research Conference and the AcademyHealth’s Annual Research Meeting in June. The poster included preliminary research using data from ICISS.