WVU Occupational Therapy Students Explore Universal Design to Promote Access

Occupational therapy practitioners often help clients overcome participation challenges. Students in the West Virginia University Division of Occupational Therapy learn to evaluate the needs of persons, groups, and populations to design programs that enhance community mobility and community access.

Under the direction of Professor Jacob Greenfield, MOT, OTR/L, CSRS, ATRIC, and Dr. Amy Kurowski-Burt, EdD, MOT, OTR/L, the third-year cohort evaluated indoor and outdoor environments to determine barriers and facilitators related to community mobility. Students applied the concepts of universal design, a concept that promotes the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design, accommodating a wide range of users, regardless of age, ability, or preference (Young, Wagenfield, & Vander Veen Rocker, 2019). 

OT students engaged in active learning to evaluate campus buildings, bathrooms, and community resources. Pictured here, OT students are evaluating a local playground. More pictures from the learning activity are available here.