Jenny Marie Dorich, PhD, MBA, OTR/L, CHT

I am an occupational therapist specializing in pediatric hand therapy. I am also a researcher with two areas of focus. I lead studies focused on patient-centered care and patient-reported outcomes in pediatric hand therapy. Additionally, I lead research focused on long-term health-related quality of life in individuals with pediatric-onset hand impairment arising from conditions such as brachial plexus birth injury and cerebral palsy.

My interest in this work stems from my love of helping people—our hands are integral to who we are. When I learned about the field of hand therapy, I was immediately drawn to it. After working for five years in hand therapy with adult patients, I sought a new challenge. I learned that Cincinnati Children’s was starting a pediatric hand center, so I explored the option. I have fallen in love with working with kids.

Research improves the care and treatment for the kids I treat. I repeatedly saw that the patient-reported outcome tools we were using didn't ask questions about the treatment outcomes they said were most meaningful to them. As a result, I aim to develop a patient-reported outcome measure that measures the treatment outcomes most meaningful to kids with upper limb impairment. This tool will enable pediatric hand therapists and hand surgeons to assess patient progress and facilitate patient-centered care. Additionally, the tool may be used in future research to identify modifiable determinants of long-term health-related quality of life in individuals with pediatric-onset upper limb impairment. I love involving the patient population and enjoy qualitative and mixed-methods research.

I was honored to receive the New Investigator Research Award (2023) from the Orthopaedic Research Society, the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) Annual Meeting 2022 Best Scientific Abstract at the American Society of Hand Therapists 45th Annual Meeting (2023,) and the Robinson Graduate Award for Research Creativity from the University of Kentucky (2022).