91ÖØ¿Ú

Jennifer Hutson is an associate professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at 91ÖØ¿Ú.  She teaches courses primarily in assistive technology and adult rehabilitation as well as foundations of research and doctoral capstone sequence courses.  She facilitates problem based learning sessions and advises students on evidence or research based Doctoral Capstone projects and Master's projects, covering a range of topics some of which include twenty-four hour postural care, seating and positioning for wheeled mobility, sleep and nighttime positioning. Dr. Hutson also serves as a faculty advisor for students in the Pi Theta Epsilon occupational therapy honor's society. From 2002-2021, Jennifer's clinical practice took place at Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare in the area of assistive technology, primarily seating and positioning.  While employed at Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare she participated in research and developed staff competency-based tutorials. In February 2020, she was awarded a PhD in Rehabilitation Science from the University of Minnesota, after completing research focused on sleep and sleep positioning for persons with cerebral palsy. She specifically examined 1) assessments used to measure sleep-based intervention changes and 2) caregiver's perceived and observed competence to implement nighttime postural care after receiving online training. Over the past several years, Jennifer has been conducting a qualitative study examining sleep-related experiences and contextual factors across the globe for children with limited movement ability. Next, she plans to investigate the health effects of lying posture care management, examining factors such as quality of life, sleep, pain and body shape for children with cerebral palsy.