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Florence Clark

Dr. Florence Clark, PhD, is Professor and Chair of the Division of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy, and Associate Dean in the School of Dentistry at USC. She has been Principal Investigator of four NIH-funded studies, including her current project, the NCMRR-funded Lifestyle Redesign for Pressure Ulcer Prevention in Spinal Cord Injury clinical trial. Her research projects have been published in both domestic and international journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association and the International Journal of Aging and Human Development. Appointed as a charter member of the Academy of Research of the American Occupational Therapy Foundation, Dr. Clark has served as special consultant to the US Army Surgeon General, served on the board of the NCMRR and been the recipient of the Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship, the highest academic honor of the American Occupational Therapy Association.

Positions & Honors

Positions
2006-present Associate Dean and Professor, Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the School of Dentistry, University of Southern California
1989-2006 Professor and Chairperson, Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California
1983-1988 Associate Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California
1976-1984 Faculty Member, Center for the Study of Sensory Integrative Dysfunction (Renamed Sensory Integration International), Torrance, CA

Selected Honors & Awards
2009 President Elect, American Occupational Therapy Association
2008 President’s Award, Occupational Therapy Association of California
2006-present Vice President, American Occupational Therapy Association
2001 Lifetime Achievement Award, American Occupational Therapy Association of California
1999 Award of Merit, American Occupational Therapy Association
1996 Certificate of Appreciation, American Occupational Therapy Foundation
1994 Doctor of Science (Honorary), University of Indianapolis, Indiana

Education

University of Southern California Ph.D. 1982 Special Education & Educational Psychology
State University of New York at Buffalo M.S. 1970 Occupational Therapy
State University of New York at Albany B.A. 1968 English

Current Research Support

# 1 R01 HD056267-01 (F. Clark, P.I.), 09/01/08 - 08/31/13
National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research, NICHD, NIH; $2,882,372
Lifestyle Redesign for Pressure Ulcer Prevention in SCI.
The major goal of this project is to evaluate an intervention aimed at reducing the incidence of pressure ulcers in spinal cord injured individuals via a large-scale randomized clinical trial.
Role: Principal Investigator

Selected Publications

  1. Jackson, J., Mandel, D., Blanchard, J., Carlson, M., Cherry, B., Azen, S., Chou, C.P., Jordan-Marsh, M., Forman, T., White, B., Granger, D., Knight, B, & Clark, F. (In Press). Confronting challenges in intervention research with ethnically diverse older adults: the USC Well Elderly II Trial. Clinical Trials, nil, 1-12.
  2. Xie, B., Chou, C-P., Spruijt-Metz, D., Reynolds, K., Clark, F., Palmer, P., Gallaher, P., Sun, P., Guo, Q., & Johnson, C. (2007). Socio-demographic and economic correlates of overweight status in Chinese adolescents. American Journal of Health Behavior, 31(4), 339-352.
  3. Clark, F., Sanders, K., Carlson, M., Blanche, E., & Jackson, J. (2007). Synthesis of habit theory. OTJR: Occupation, Participation, and Health, 27(Suppl), 7S-23S.
  4. Clark, F., Jackson, J., Scott, M., Carlson, M., Atkins, M., Uhles-Tanaka, D., Rubayi, S. (2006). Data-based models of how pressure ulcers develop in daily living contexts of adults with spinal cord injury. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 87, 1516-1524.
  5. Clark, F. (2006). One person's thoughts on the future of occupational science. Journal of Occupational Science, 13(3), 167-179.
  6. Clark, F. (2005). Occupation embedded in a real life: Interweaving occupational science and occupational therapy. In R. Padilla (Ed.), A professional legacy: The Eleanor Clarke Slagle lectures in occupational therapy, 1955-2004 (2nd ed., pp. 475-492). Bethesda, MD: AOTA Press.
  7. Clark, F., Jackson, J., & Carlson, M. (2004). Occupational science, occupational therapy and evidence-based practice: What the well elderly study has taught us. In M. Molineux (Ed.), Occupation for occupational therapists (pp.200-218). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
  8. Hay, J., Luo, R., Azen, S. P., Carlson, M., Mandel, D., LaBree, L., & Clark, F. (2002). Cost-effectiveness of preventive occupational therapy for independent-living older adults. Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 50(8), 1381-1388.
  9. Clark, F., Azen, S.P., Carlson, M., Mandel, D., LaBree, L., Hay, J., Zemke, R., Jackson, J., & Lipson, L. (2001). Embedding health-promoting changes into the daily lives of independent-living older adults: Long-term follow-up of occupational therapy intervention. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 56(B), pp. 60-63.
  10. Jackson, J., Kennedy, B.L., Mandel, D., Carlson, M., Cherry, B., Fanchiang, S-P., Ding, L., Zemke, R., Azen, S., LaBree, L., & Clark, F. (2000). Derivation and pilot assessment of a health promotion program for Mandarin speaking Chinese older adults. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 50, 127-149.
  11. Carlson, M., Young, B., & Clark, F. (1998). Practical contributions of occupational science to the art of successful Aging: How to sculpt a meaningful life in older adulthood. Journal of Occupational Science, 5, 107-118.
  12. Clark, F., Azen, S.P., Zemke, R., Jackson, J., Carlson, M., Hay, J., Mandel, D., Josephson, K., Cherry, B., Hessel, C., Palmer, J. & Lipson, L. (1997). Occupational therapy for independent-living older adults: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Medical Association, 278(16), 1321-1326.