Darlene Perez-Brown, Ph.D., OTR/L


 

SHORT BIO:

Dr. Perez-Brown obtained her Ph.D. and Masters degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas. Her Occupational Therapy Degree is from The University of Puerto Rico. Main professional experience includes: Pediatrics (primarily School-Based OT), Mental Health, and Work Hardening.  One of Dr. Perez-Brown's leading contributions to the Occupational Therapy Department has been the development and coordination of International Educational and Service Learning Projects to Costa Rica and El Salvador. The main goal of these projects is to facilitate the development of cross-cultural competencies and to promote the implementation of problem-solving skills in new, challenging, and foreign arenas of practice. 

Education:

Ph.D., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Forth Worth, Texas

MARE., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Forth Worth, Texas

B.S., Occupational Therapy, University of Puerto Rico

Teaching:

Courses taught include: Occupational Development Across the Lifespan, Analysis of Occupation, Occupational Interventions: Childhood to Adolescence, Fieldwork Practicum A & B, Application and Integration Seminar I, Research Proposal Development, Conducting Occupation-Based Research, and Research Writing and Dissemination

 Research Interests:

UNCFSP / NLM – HBCU ACCESS PROJECT, October 2006 – October 2007

Co-Investigator: United Negro College Fund Special Program Corporation in partnership with the National Library of Medicine: A Campus and Community-Based e-Health Program: Increasing e-Health Literacy and Improving Health Behaviors.

Needs Assessment of the Latino/Hispanic Community: Spring and Fall 2006

As part of the COPC Project (Community Outreach Partnership Center), from the Center for Community Safety, an assessment of the Latino Community within the COPC geographical region, was conducted to determine its primary needs.  This community participatory research identified three areas in need for intervention as they relate to five areas of community revitalization addressed by the COPC project: Housing, healthcare, crime prevention, education and administration.  The study revealed three priority areas of intervention within the Latino community: 1) Health care, 2) Health education and 3) Housing.

 Other Areas of Research Interests:

The effects of a "Sensory Diet" in a high risk preschool program; The effects of a Backpack Safety Program in correcting improper use of backpacks in school aged children;  and The benefits of an international service learning project in developing cross-cultural competencies in Occupational Therapy students.

Publications:

• Perez-Brown, D. (2006). Herramientas para la evaluación de las actividades diarias. [Tools for the evaluation of the activities of daily life]. In Romero, D., & Moruno, P. (Eds.), Actividades de la vida diaria. [Activities of daily life]. (pp. 77-178). Barcelona, Spain: MASSON.

• Perez-Brown, D. (2006). Terapia ocupacional en las escuelas. [Occupational therapy in the schools].  In Romero, D., & Moruno, P. (Eds.), Actividades de la vida diaria. [Activities of daily life]. (pp. 205-218). Barcelona, Spain: MASSON. 

• Phillips, I., Bell, C., Bethea, D., Perez-Brown, D., & Jenkins, A. (In Press: November, 2006). Educating master level students to become life long researchers using an occupational performance based curriculum model. OT Practice. Bethesda, MD: AOTA.

• Perez-Brown, D., (1994).  Modelos para servir.  Women’s Missionary Union, Birmingham, AL.