Elena Donoso Brown

Dr. Elena Donoso Brown is an occupational therapist and associate professor at Duquesne University. She earned her M.S. in Occupational Therapy from Duquesne University and her Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Sciences from the University of Washington. Her clinical background is with individual post-stroke and traumatic brain injury during the acute phase of recovery in the inpatient rehabilitation setting. She has developed a research agenda around understanding and assessing ways to optimize the implementation of home programs for persons with acquired brain injury to increase adherence. In addition, Dr. Donoso Brown teaches students in the program’s professional and advanced professional phases on evidence-based practice, scholarship of practice, and program development. She also mentors students through the research project series and as a doctoral capstone chair..

• Ph.D., Rehabilitation Science, University of Washington, 2012
• M.S., Occupational Therapy, Duquesne University, 2005
• B.S. Health Sciences, Duquesne University, 2004

Research Focus: My research contributions aim to support the assessment and rehabilitation of adults with neurological diagnoses. Specifically, my work aims to understand methods that can support the implementation of rehabilitation recommendations into practice to improve health outcomes and decrease care costs. I am also interested in the best practices around addressing these issues in persons with aphasia, a common communication impairment post-stroke.

Current Projects: My current projects include: 1) exploration of social support post-stroke and its potential for use in the rehabilitation process, 2) understanding the clinicians’ perspective of the use of artificial intelligence in stroke rehabilitation, and 3) understanding best practices around interprofessional education.