Carolyn Unsworth

Carolyn´s Doctoral Dissertation (1993) dealt with clinical decision-making concerning housing accommodation for the elderly following stroke rehabilitation.  Currently, her research focus has been directed towards automobile driving and how an occupational therapist critically examines, and makes decisions, regarding the continued operation of vehicles for the elderly and those with a functional handicap.  This research is contributing to the development of an “off-road" examination of a driver´s ability.  Carolyn has applied these same methods in her assessment of rehabilitation outcomes in the elderly following a stroke.  One of her additional interests is in the area of clinical reasoning that includes, amongst other things, how an occupational therapist makes decisions regarding care of patients.

Carolyn is a contributing member of the team at La Trobe University that has developed the Australian Therapy Outcome Measures (AusTOMs), a widely used evaluation tool for therapeutic outcomes.  In cooperation with a team from The School of Health Sciences at Jönköping University, she has worked on the translation of the AusTOMs-OT to Swedish.  The translated AusTOMs is currently being evaluated for reliability in a Swedish application.

Carolyn currently has an Associate Professor position at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia (1995-current).  She was previously a member of faculty at Tufts University in Boston, USA (1993-1995) and has lectured at universities and hospitals in Australia, Sweden, Singapore, England, Scotland, and USA.  She is a member of the editorial committee for the Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy and the American Journal of Occupational Therapy.  Additionally, she is a reviewer for a number of international peer-review journals within the area of occupational therapy and rehabilitation.  She has also published a book, authored a number of book chapters, and is the author of more than 60 peer-review articles.