Chih-Ying "Cynthia" Li, PhD, OTR
Associate Professor

Curriculum Vitae Research Expert Google Scholar ResearchGate

Teaching Areas of Interest

Outcome Measurement, Grant Writing, Translational Research

Research Interests

Health Services Research

Biography

Chih-Ying "Cynthia" Li, PhD, OTR is an Associate Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the UTMB School of Health Professions. Dr. Li received her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from National Taiwan University and her Doctor of Philosophy in Health and Rehabilitation Science from Medical University of South Carolina.

Dr. Li is a NIH-supported career development awardee (K01) from NICHD/NCMRR, 2021 Early Career Research Excellence Award recipient from American Occupational Therapy Foundation and 2021 Learning Health Systems Rehabilitation Research Network (LeaRRn) Scholar. Dr. Li also serves as a core faculty at the UTMB Center for Recovery, Physical Activity and Nutrition (CeRPAN) and an Associate Scholar at the UTMB Clinical Translational Sciences Award (CTSA). The focus of Dr. Li’s research has been on using advanced methodologies to look at rehabilitation outcomes, with an emphasis on care delivery, transition, services use patterns and quality measures such as hospital readmissions and successful community discharge across post-acute settings.

Grants & Funding

• P30-AG024832 09/2017 - 08/2018
  • Grantor: UTMB Claude Pepper Older Americans Independence Center
  • Study: Functional Trajectory and Successful Community Discharge in Older Adults
  • Objective: Identify functional status change, post-acute care trajectories and how those two factors related to 90-day readmission and successful community discharge for Medicare beneficiaries.
  • Role: Pilot Principal Investigator (Volpi - PI)
• K01HD101589 04/2020 - 03/2025
  • Grantor: NIH, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research Eunice Kennedy Shriver
  • Study: Standardized Patient Assessment across Post-Acute Care: Opportunities and Challenges
  • Objective: Examine response patterns at Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility between the Functional Independence Measure and the standardized patient functional assessments (Section GG), in respond to the functional assessment transition mandated by the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation Act of 2014.
  • Role: Principal Investigator
• Health Services Research Grant 09/2020 - 08/2022
  • Grantor: American Occupational Therapy Foundation
  • Study:OT Service Intensity in Home Health and Impact on Health Outcomes
  • Objective:Generate evidence on the effectiveness of occupational therapy in home health care with respect to key patient outcomes and patient characteristics, in respond to the Patient-Driven Groupings Model mandated by CMS in 2020.
  • Role: Principal Investigator
• P30-AG059301 07/2021 - 06/2022
  • Grantor: UTMB Texas Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR) funded by NIH/NIA
  • Study: Cognitive Demand and Occupation of Older Mexican Adults
  • Objective: Construct an index of cognitive demand for occupations held by participants in the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS) waves 1 to 5.
  • Role: Pilot Principal Investigator (Markides - PI)

Notable Publications

• Li CY, Haas A, Pritchard KT, Karmarkar A, Kuo YF, Hreha K, Ottenbacher KJ. Functional status across post-acute settings is associated with 30-day and 90-day hospital readmissions. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2021 Aug 30:S1525-8610(21)00687-3. doi:10.1016/j.jamda.2021.07.039. PMID: 34473961.
• Jones LAT, Li CY, Weitzenkamp D, Steeves J, Charlifue S., Whiteneck G. Development and validation of crosswalks between FIM ® and SCIM III for voluntary musculoskeletal movement functions. Neurorehabil Neural Repair. 2021 Jul. doi:10.1177/15459683211033854 PMID: 34330180.
• Li CY, Karmarkar AM, Lin YL, Kuo YF, Ottenbacher KJ. Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program and post-acute care: Implications for service delivery and 30-day hospital readmission. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2020. Jul 10:S1525-8610(20)30421-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.jamda.2020.05.018. PMID: 32660855.
• Li CY, Karmarkar AM, Kuo YF, Haas A, Ottenbacher KJ. Impact of self-care and mobility on one or more post-acute care transitions in Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries. J Aging Health. 2020. DOI: 10.1177/0898264320925259. PMID: 32501126.
• Li CY, Karmarkar AM, Adhikari D, Ottenbacher KJ, Kuo YF. Effects of Age and Sex on Hospital Readmission in Traumatic Brain Injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2018; 99(7): 1279-1288.e1.DOI: 10.1016/j.apmr.2017.12.006.
• Li CY, Karmarkar AM, Lin YL, Kuo YF, Ottenbacher KJ, Graham JE. Is Profit Status of Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities Independently Associated with 30-day Unplanned Hospital Readmission for Medicare Beneficiaries? Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2018; 99(3): 598-602.e2. DOI: 10.1016/j.apmr.2017.09.002.
• Li CY, Velozo CA, Hong I, Li C, Newman JC, Krause JS. Generating Rasch-based activity of daily living measures from the Spinal Cord Injury Longitudinal Aging Study. Spinal Cord. 2018 Jan; 56(1):14-21. DOI: 10.1038/sc.2017.99. PMID: 28895574.
• Li CY, Romero S, Bonilha HS, Simpson KN, Simpson AN, Hong I, Velozo CA. Linking Existing Instruments to Develop an Activity of Daily Living Item Bank. Eval Health Prof. 2018 Mar;41(1):25-43. DOI: 10.1177/0163278716676873. PMID: 27856680.

Note: A complete list of all publications can be found on the abbreviated CV.