Have you been wanting to investigate this concern that would support your Occupational Therapy practice? The Canadian Occupational Therapy Foundation (COTF) can help ! We offer research scholarships and grants. Researchers can answer those questions relevant to practice. Clinicians can bring those questions forward to researchers or COTF can also partner you with an academic OT who can assist/support you with your research proposal, and guide you through this process.
COTF has been focusing on ensuring that the research that COTF funds is relevant to clinicians and their clients. Our strategic plan supports the need to ensure that clinicians are able to put in practice the research COTF funds by addressing their “field” questions to support best practice for several years. We have focused on the area of mental health for 2017/2018 and again for 2018/2019. This area of OT practice is needed and critical for helping Canadians currently.
I am Marjorie Hackett, proud president of our Canadian Occupational Therapy Foundation since October 1st, 2015. I have been a practising OT for 37 years in acute care, rehabilitation, long term care, acute psychiatry, home care, and now again in mental health. We have a very valued, vital profession that continually develops itself, and proves itself through evidence based research — many times funded in part or initially by COTF.
I have been a COTF Board member since 2010, as I became educated as to the incredible work of our Foundation when I was a CAOT Board member and wanted to get involved. I realized the strong role our Foundation plays in fortifying all aspects of our OT Profession — CAOT, the university OT programs, the OT regulators and the provincial OT associations by supporting sound research for best practice. Please support your Foundation by visiting cotfcanada.org