Washington University in Saint Louis

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Carolyn Baum

URL: http://mednews.wustl.edu/sb/page/normal/188.html


Professor in the Program of Occupational Therapy and Neurology and Elias Michael Director of the Program in Occupational Therapy

Expertise: aging, enabling independent living, return of function following stroke

Bio:
Baum
Baum
Baum's research focuses on enabling older adults to live independently. Rather than focus on people's deficits, she seeks to understand what a person with chronic disease or disability can do. Her work has been recognized by funding from the National Institutes of Health, The James S. McDonnell Foundation, the Social Security Administration and OASIS (the Older Adults Service and Information System).

Education:

Additional Background: Older adults are living longer. Some have retained good health, and others are experiencing the consequences of sensory, motor, physiological and cognitive changes that threaten their potential to live independently. Most measurement models seek to describe the problems that older adults experience. Baum and her colleagues, Dorothy Edwards and Monica Perlmutter, have built a measurement model that demonstrates the capacity of a person to engage in activities, tasks and roles. By understanding the capacities of a person, it is possible to minimize unnecessary disabilities and help both the person and the family acquire the skills to maximize the person's performance, while at the same time minimize the stress on the family that has chosen to care for their loved one.

Currently, Baum is working with the Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences at the School of Medicine to identify the relationship of vision and continued independence at home. She also serves as a principal investigator (along with Alex Dromerick, MD) on the McDonnell Science Foundation project "Improving Cognitive Performance: Cognition, Neurobiological Mechanisms, Treatment, and Community Reintegration" which is an interdisciplinary study that aims to strengthen rehabilitation approaches to improve the lives of person's with cognitive loss. This project includes scientists from neurobiology, neuroradiology, cognitive neuroscience, psychology, neurology, occupational therapy, education and philosophy.

Carolyn Baum
Carolyn Baum

Baum has served as the President of the American Occupational Therapy Association and President of the National Board of Certification of Occupational Therapy and has received the top two honors of the American Occupational Therapy Association. In 1981, she delivered the Eleanor Clarke Slagel Lectureship, and in 1983, she received the Award of Merit.

Baum has been involved in two major rehabilitation policy initiatives. She served on the National Institute of Health committee that wrote the rehabilitation plan for Congress that implemented the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research. She also served on The Institute of Medicine committee that wrote the report, Enabling America for Congress, which subsequently was published as a book.

She currently is Editor of the OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health.

Baum, along with her colleague and friend Charles Christiansen, has authored and edited the text, Occupational Therapy: Enabling Function and Well-Being. Their book is used in occupational therapy curriculums all over the world. She also recently co-authored, Measuring Occupational Performance, with Mary Law (McMaster Univ, Canada) and Winnifred Dunn (University of Kansas). Her work is included in major texts focusing on disability issues, client-centered care, and measurement.


Contact Information


Secretarial Contact
•Bonnie Logsdom
logsdonb@msnotes.wustl.edu
(314) 286-1619
(314) 286-1601 (fax)
Related Information


Related Links:
•WUSM Occupational Therapy (http://ot.wustl.edu/)
•Baum's Web page (http://ot.wustl.edu/ot/ot.nsf/F/CC72087AC8122FBD8625694D0066F86C?Open)
•Occupational Performance Laboratory (http://ot.wustl.edu/ot/OT.nsf/R/A0F9DD256A55D4BC8625695100654546?OpenDocument)

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