Deborah Thorpe, PT, PhD, has received a $25,000 grant for continued research of cerebral palsy in adults.

Deborah Thorpe, PT, PhD, recently received a $25,000 grant funded by the Center on Health Services Training and Research (CoHSTAR). Her grant, titled “Health Care Utilization for Musculoskeletal Conditions in Adults with Cerebral Palsy: An Analysis of Medicare Data” is a one-year pilot grant that will use Medicare claims data accessed through The North Carolina Translational & Clinical Sciences (NC TraCS) Institute .

This work will increase our understanding of health care utilization (real-world care) for adults with cerebral palsy. The results of this study will lay the foundation for a program of research that will assess the quality and value of rehabilitation care for this population, with the ultimate objective of improving the health and quality of life of adults with cerebral palsy.

Thorpe’s co-investigators are Janet Freburger, PT, PhD, associate director with the Medical Practice and Prevention Program and senior research fellow at the UNC-CH Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research and Mary Gannotti, PT, PhD, a professor of physical therapy and director at the Center for Health, Care, and Well-being at the University of Hartford.

Thorpe is a faculty member in the Department of Allied Health Sciences’ Division of Physical Therapy.