Noralyn Davel Pickens, OT, Ph.D.

Contact

npickens@twu.edu
940-898-2815
School of Occupational Therapy
Texas Woman's University
MCL 816
1200 N. Bell Ave
Denton,TX 76209

PO Box 452648
Denton, TX 76204-5648

Biography

Dr. Noralyn Pickens is Professor and Senior Associate Director of the School of Occupational Therapy. Dr. Pickens teaches and mentors students in the entry OTD and PhD programs. She is an Affiliate Scientist with the R2D2 Center at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Dr. Pickens' research interests address occupational engagement in context, assessment and intervention to facilitate aging-in-place, caregiving and occupational engagement in end-of-life care. Mentored PhD student work included occupation in long-term care, novice use of occupation in practice, dementia care in home and institutions, and end-of-life care services. Dr. Pickens serves on the James L. West Alzheimer's Center Education Advisory Board, and has a nearly 20 year history of volunteering with Rebuilding Together offering home safety assessment and intervention training. 

Education

Ph.D., Kinesiology: Therapeutic Sciences, University of Wisconsin System : Madison
M.S., Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
B.S., Occupational Therapy, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Research Interests

Aging-in-place; Home safety assessment; End-of-life care; Qualitative methodologies

Latest Articles

You've Got to Do Something: Developing Occupational Therapists' Role in End-of-Life Care
OTJR: Occupation, Participation, & Health (2022)
Janice Kishi Chow, Noralyn D Pickens, Tina S Fletcher, Mary Thompson, Patricia Bowyer

Novice occupational therapy practitioners' use of occupation in practice: A scoping review
Occupational Therapy In Health Care (2022)
Kristin B Jones, Noralyn D Pickens, B A Boyt Schell, Marsha Neville

Occupational therapy in primary health care for underserved populations: A scoping review
Occupational Therapy In Health Care (2022)
William Sit, Carolyn Wheeler, Noralyn Pickens

Effects of sensory diets: A single subject study
Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools and Early Intervention: Innovations in Practice, Theory, and Research (2021)
V. Pingale, Tina S. Fletcher, C. Candler, Noralyn Pickens, K. Dunlap

Outcomes of team-centered, occupational adaptation-based versus traditional dementia workforce training
Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy (2021)
M. H. McKay, Noralyn Pickens, Cynthia Evetts, Ann Medley

America's housing crisis: Perpetuating disparities among people with disability
Disability and Society (2021)
Suzanne Perea Burns, Rochelle Mendonca, Noralyn Pickens, Roger O Smith

Dementia Workforce Development: Comparing Occupational Adaptation and Traditional Educational Programs
The Gerontologist (2021)
M Heather McKay, Noralyn Pickens, Ann Medley, D H Cooper, Cynthia Evetts

Measuring efficacy of occupational therapy in end-of-life care: A scoping review
American Journal of Occupational Therapy (2020)
Janice Kishi Chow, Noralyn Davel Pickens

Home safety evaluation – Getting it right
Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology (2020)
Noralyn Pickens, Rochelle Mendonca, Suzanne P. Burns, Roger O Smith

Home Environmental Assessment Protocol-Revised (HEAP-R) Initial Psychometrics; A Pilot Study
OTJR: Occupation, Participation, & Health (2020)
Linda Struckmeyer, Noralyn Pickens, Diane Brown, Katy Mitchell

Development, reliability, and validity of the Multiple Errands Test Home Version (MET-Home) in adults with stroke.
American Journal of Occupational Therapy (2019)
Suzanne Perea Burns, Deidre Dawson, Jaimee J.D. Perea, Asha Vas, Noralyn D Pickens

Occupational Therapy Interventions in Skilled Nursing Facilities: A Scoping Review
Annals of International Occupational Therapy (2019)
Vanesssa D. Jewell, Noralyn D. Pickens, Shelly Burns

Associations between self-generated strategy use and MET-Home performance in adults with stroke
Neuropsychological Rehabilitation (2019)
Suzanne P Burns, Deirdre Dawson, Jaimee Perea, Asha Vas, Noralyn Pickens

The effect of instructor-produced videos as supplemental material for training visual screening procedures in occupational therapy education
Journal of Occupational Therapy Education (2019)
Holly Grieves, Noralyn Davel Pickens, Tracy Young, Theresa M. Smith

The impact of home modifications on occupational participation of a family
Annals of International Occupational Therapy (2019)
Noralyn D. Pickens, Zahira Khimji, Megan Lindgren

In-home contextual reality: A qualitative analysis using the Multiple Errands Test Home Version (MET-Home)
Neuropsychological Rehabilitation (2018)
Suzanne Perea Burns, Noralyn Pickens, Deidre R Dawson, Jaimee D Perea, Vas K Asha

Construct Validity of the Participation and Sensory Environment Questionnaire – Teacher Version
Assessment for Effective Intervention (2018)
Aimee Piller, Tina Fletcher, Beth Pfieffer, Noralyn Pickens

Interprofessional Client-Centered Reasoning Processes in Home Modification Practice
Journal of Housing for the Elderly (2017)
Suzanne P. Burns, Noralyn D. Pickens, Roger O. Smith

Psychometric Evaluation of the Occupation-Centered Intervention Assessment
OTJR: Occupation, Participation, & Health (2017)
Vanessa Jewell, Noralyn D. Pickens

Caregiver perceptions of a telehealth wellness program
American Journal of Occupational Therapy (2017)
Katrina Serwe, Gayle Hersch, Noralyn Pickens, Karen Pancheri

Translating caregiver wellness to telehealth: A mixed-methods feasibility study
American Journal of Occupational Therapy (2017)
Katrina Serwe, Gayle Hersch, Karen Pancheri, Noralyn Pickens

Embedding Technology into Inter-professional Best-practice Home Safety Evaluation
Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology (2016)
Suzanne Perea Burns, Noralyn Davel Pickens

Best Practices: Occupational Therapists Working with Caregivers in Palliative and End-of-Life Care
OT Practice Magazine (2016)
Noralyn Pickens, Tiffany Long

An exploration into occupation-centered practice in skilled nursing facilities
Physical & Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics: Current Trends in Geriatric Rehabilitation (2016)
Vanessa D Jewell, Noralyn Davel Pickens, Gayle Hersch, Gail Jensen

How patient educators teach students: Giving a face to a story
Open Journal of Occupational Therapy (Online) (2015)
Natalie Hedge, Marsha Neville, Noralyn D. Pickens

Home Modifications for People with Alzheimer's Disease: A Scoping Review
American Journal of Occupational Therapy (2015)
Linda Struckmeyer, Noralyn Davel Pickens

Becoming at home in home modifications: Comparing the professional reasoning skills of novice and expert therapists
Occupational Therapy In Health Care (2015)
Whitney DuBroc, Noralyn Pickens

Chapters

End of life issues
in Handbook of Rehabilitation in Older Adults | Springer Publishers (2019)
Janice Kishi Chow, M. Heather McKay, Noralyn Pickens

Physical and virtual environments: Meaning of place and space
in Willard and Spackman's Occupational Therapy | Wolters - Kluwer (2019)
Noralyn D. Pickens, Cynthia Evetts

Introduction to occupation and co-occupation
in Occupational Therapy in Mental Health: A Vision for the Future, 2nd Edition | F.A. Davis Company (2019)
Kris Pizur Barnekow, Noralyn D. Pickens

Home Modifications
in Clinical and professional reasoning in occupational therapy, 2nd edition | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (2018)
Noralyn Pickens, Suzanne Burns

Occupational Therapists
in The Encyclopedia of Elder Care, 4th edition | Springer Publishing Co (2017)
Carol Getz Rice, Noralyn Pickens

Environmental modifications: Ethics of assessment and intervention
in Practical Applications for the Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics (2015) | AOTA Press (2017)
Rochelle Mendonca, Noralyn Pickens, Roger O. Smith

Externally Funded Projects

Home Evaluation App for Community Independence: HESTIA-NextGen Year 2 of 3
National Institute on Disability, Independent Living Rehabilitation Research | $55,370.00 | 2021
Role: Co-Principal Investigator

Home Evaluation App for Community Independence: HESTIA-NextGen Year 1 of 3
National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research | $101,879.00 | 2020
Role: Co-Principal Investigator

Development of a Multi-Focal app for home reintegration: There's an app for that? -Subcontract with Univ of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Year 3 of 3
National Institute of Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) | $107,563.00 | 2017
Role: Principal Investigator

Access Ratings for Buildings: NextGen App
National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) | $60,000.00 | 2017
Role: Co-Principal Investigator

Development of a Multi-Focal app for home reintegration: There's an app for that? -Subcontract with Univ of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Year 2 of 3
National Institute of Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) | $107,563.00 | 2015
Role: Principal Investigator

Internally Funded Projects

Hearing distressed voices simulation
TWU TARGET Funds | $4,725.00 | 2020
Research Grant

School of Occupational Therapy training and treatment clinic: Agape Clinic
TARGET Award | $14,360.00 | 2017
Research Grant

Comparison of Actigraph and FitBit - Criterion related validity and clinical utility
TWU Small Grants Competition | $750.00 | 2015
Research Grant

Professional Affiliations

• American Occupational Therapy Association
• Gerontological Society of America
• Texas Occupational Therapy Association
• World Federation of Occupational Therapy