Peggy Strecker Neufeld, Ph.D., OTR/L
Peggy Neufeld is an Assistant Professor in the Program of Occupational Therapy at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Dr. Neufeld received her BA in Occupational Therapy from the University of Kansas, a MA in Occupational Therapy and Education from New York University, and a MA in Social Psychology from the University of Missouri at St. Louis. She received her Ph.D. in Education Research in 2002 from Washington University. Dr. Neufeld has extensive experience in providing direct occupational therapy practice in hospital and community settings. She presents health education widely in the community regarding self-management and health and wellness in individuals with disabling conditions due to chronic disease and aging. She joined the faculty in 1989. Dr. Neufeld is a Fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association and has served the profession in many roles regarding home and community health.

Her research interests include socio-cultural processes of teaching and learning, empowerment, self-management of chronic disabling conditions, and social engagement and leadership in older adults. Dr. Neufeld’s past professional activities include Coordinator of Post-Professional Occupational Therapy Program, and Community Practice Evaluation Specialist in the Program of Occupational Therapy at Washington University. Also, she has served as the Curriculum Director of Occupational Therapy at Downstate Medical Center of State University of New York. Dr. Neufeld is particularly active in community health education with persons with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and older adults. She serves on the Clinical Advisory Committee for the Gateway Area Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) and in 2002 she was inducted into the NMSS Volunteer Hall of Fame. Dr. Neufeld created the Gateway to Wellness Program for Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis and their Carepartners, which is a community-based health education and fitness program to enhance self-management skills and quality of life. The program continues to be offered nationally by the NMSS, which was initially sponsored through a grant from the Education and Training Foundation of the Paralyzed Veterans of America. She also coordinates a Wellness Course for Persons with Parkinson’s Disease and Caregivers through partnership with the St. Louis Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association and initial funding from the Lutheran Charities Foundation of Greater St. Louis. Most recently she created the Community Connections for Successful Aging course for adults 65 years and older living in a naturally occurring retirement community (NORC). Dr. Neufeld serves as the Research and Community Liaison for the St. Louis NORC.
SUMMARY OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

Unpredictable and deteriorating health conditions from chronic disease requires management of physical symptoms and social-emotional and environmental consequences. Productive and satisfying lifestyles may be challenged by disability and aging conditions through changes in capacities and social networks. Occupational therapists can play significant roles in promoting health and wellness in individuals and communities by fostering self-management skills, social engagement, and community capacities and partnerships.

This research laboratory, Managing Chronic Disabling Conditions through Occupations, is organized to create theoretical and practical knowledge regarding self-management, wellness, and community programs. The work emphasizes health promotion, prevention, community participation, and occupational performance. Activities in this lab include participatory research through partnering with organizations, assessing community needs, developing and evaluating wellness education and train-the-trainer programs, teaching personnel and facilitating communities of learners, examining how emerging discourse in health interventions impact social change, and evaluating efficacy of programs for individuals and their family members living with disabling conditions, health professionals, and organizational partners.

At this time, Ms. Neufeld’s research and practice focuses on evaluating the impact of program opportunities and supportive services in a NORC on healthy aging and enabling older adults to age in place (staying in their own homes as long as they wish). Her current funded studies are supported through a grant from the Administration on Aging in partnership with the Washington University Center for Aging and the Jewish Federation of St. Louis with its community partners.

Past Master’s and Doctoral OT students have studied with Dr. Neufeld to address: action research with NORC residents developing a storytelling website; longitudinal analysis of participation in physical activity programs for older adults; case studies of participation and productivity in a NORC; comparison of alternative community health education programs for older adults; exploration of impact of sickle cell disease on young adults’ occupational performance; examination of occupational performance of adolescents managing the late effects of childhood cancer; investigation of peer-led and professional-led support groups; comparison of outcomes of community programs for fitness and education; study of culture and gender issues in health education for persons with MS; consumer education programs enabling occupations and enhancing satisfaction with employment, parenting, and use of community resources; assessment of quality of life in persons with head and neck cancer; and investigation of daily living changes after facial paralysis.

SOME RECENT PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

Neufeld P, Kniepmann K: Gateway to Wellness: An occupational therapy collaboration with National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Occupational Therapy Health Care, Special Issue on Community Health. 2001; 13(3/4): 67-84.

Neufeld P: Narrative use among persons with disabling conditions. Presentation. Fifth Congress of the International Society for Cultural Research and Activity Theory. Amsterdam, Netherlands. June 21, 2002.

Neufeld P: A discourse analysis of communities of learners with disabling conditions: Reconstructing wellness. Presentation. AOTF Qualitative Research Exchange at the Annual Conference of the American Occupational Therapy Association, Washington D.C., June 5, 2003.

Neufeld P, Carron, S: Presentation. An Introduction to Gateway to Wellness, A Program for Persons with Multiple Sclerosis and Carepartners. International Multiple Sclerosis Symposium in Berlin, Germany, September 23, 2003.

Neufeld P: Wellness Course outcomes and narrative changes – in persons with Parkinson’s disease and caregivers. Annual Conference of the American Occupational Therapy Association, Washington D.C., May 2004.

Neufeld P: Enabling Participation through Community and Population Approaches. Continuing Education article in Occupational Therapy Practice, August 8, 2004.

Neufeld P: Focus groups with seniors in a naturally occurring retirement community (NORC): Managing aging conditions to enable aging in place. Proceedings from the Gerontological Society of America Annual Conference, Washington, DC, November 20, 2004.

Neufeld P: Enhancing health and wellness through participatory groups in a naturally occurring retirement community (NORC) – A symposium on a NORC study. Proceedings from the Gerontological Society of America Annual Conference, Washington, DC, November 20, 2004.

Neufeld, P: Civic engagement in older adults in a naturally occurring retirement community. Testimony for the 2005 White House Conference on Aging, George Warren Brown Social Work School of Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, February 15, 2005.

Neufeld P, Berry-Elbert K, Newfield J, Cremer T, Press Milner L: Engaging volunteerism in older adults through Resident Councils in a naturally occurring retirement community (NORC). Proceedings from the Gerontological Society of America Annual Conference, Orlando FL, November 21, 2005.

Sutter D, Curdt T, Neufeld P: Promoting Community Participation in Persons with Parkinson’s Disease. Occupational Therapy Practice, 11(17) October 2006, 19-22.

Neufeld P: Evaluating the Process of Community Engagement in a Naturally Occurring Retirement Community–A symposium on a NORC study. Proceedings from the Gerontological Society of America Annual Conference, Dallas TX. November 19, 2006

Neufeld P: The Adult Learner in Client-Practitioner Partnerships. A chapter in K. McKenna and L. Tooth (Eds.), Client Education: A partnership approach for health practitioners. 2006; pp. 57-87. Sidney, Australia: UNSW Press.

Carpenter BD, Edwards DF, Pickard JG, Palmer JL, Stark S, Neufeld PS, Morrow-Howell, N, Perkinson MA, Morris, JC: Anticipating Relocation: Concerns about Moving among NORC Residents, Journal of Gerontological Social Work, (in press, 2007, Vol. 49, 1/2).
CONTACT INFORMATION

E-mail: neufeldp@wustl.edu
Phone: (314) 286-1638 office
Fax: (314) 286-1601

Mailing address:
Program in Occupational Therapy
Campus Box 8505
4444 Forest Park Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63108