Shawn C. Roll

• PhD, OTR/L, RMSKS, FAOTA, FAIUM
• Professor (Full) at University of Southern California

Objective Work-related discomfort is a pervasive issue among ultrasonography users. The Sonography Work Systems (SWS) framework was constructed as a means of examining relationships within and across components of the sonography work systems, work processes, and work/worker outcomes. A database of ultrasonography users was established as a foundati...

Previous studies have primarily focused on predicting stress arousal, encompassing physiological, behavioral, and psychological responses to stressors, while neglecting the examination of stress appraisal. Stress appraisal involves the cognitive evaluation of a situation as stressful or non-stressful, and as a threat/pressure or a challenge/opportu...

Objective Explore the differing associations of Sonography Work Systems (SWS) model factors with work-related discomfort outcomes among sonographers in four sonographic practice areas. Materials and Methods Survey data from a national cross-disciplinary cohort of sonographers was analyzed to explore experiences of work factors and work-related dis...

Importance: Work and industry (W&I) is a vital yet underrepresented area of occupational therapy practice. Describing the current practice trends, challenges, and opportunities in W&I provides a foundation for future development and advancements. Objective: To describe the state of W&I occupational therapy practice and to identify challenges and op...

Stress experiences can have dire consequences for worker performance and well-being, and the social environment of the workplace is a key contributor to worker experience. This study investigated the relationship between hybrid workers’ self-ratings of productivity, mood, and stress with perceptions of positive (eustress) and negative (distress) st...

Purpose/Objectives This study examined the relationship between environmental factors (e.g., working position, patient position, and scaling instruments) and poor posture in dental hygiene students. Methods A longitudinal cohort study was conducted from 2017 to 2019 to observe dental hygiene students' clinical rotation performance at two undergrad...

The Revised Strain Index (RSI), despite its prevalence in ergonomics field practice, is designed to assess jobs with cyclic and predictable physical and behavioral patterns. The quantification of exertion force, posture, and work task duration is substantially more challenging for non-routinized work in clinical and hospital environments. Using den...

With the exponential rise in the prevalence of automation, trust in such technology has become more critical than ever before. Trust is confidence in a particular entity, especially in regard to the consequences they can have for the trustor, and calibrated trust is the extent to which the judgments of trust are accurate. The focus of this paper is...

Objective This systematic review aims to determine the extent, scope, and nature of research using the sonographic measurement of intraneural blood flow within the median nerve and to identify, characterize, and compare image acquisition and analysis protocols that have been reported as potential candidate techniques for standardizing research and...

Objective Burnout in sonographers is a prevalent and complex professional hazard associated with poorer quality of work life, productivity, and patient outcomes. This study aimed to understand the prevalence of and work systems factors associated with burnout among a large sample of sonographers. Materials and Methods Research study registry parti...

Objectives Stiff shoulder, including primary and secondary types, poses diagnostic challenges due to vague definitions and criteria. This study evaluates the diagnostic potential of ultrasound-measured axillary recess (AR) thickness in shoulder stiffness. Designs In this cross-sectional study, 35 patients with unilateral shoulder stiffness were as...

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is highly prevalent, resulting in decreased function and increased need for costly healthcare services. External wrist ratio (depth/width >0.70) is a strong predictor of the development of CTS and has been suggested to be a proxy for internal carpal tunnel (CT) shape. Conversely, sonography can more directly evaluate CT...

Objective Work-related injuries have a major effect on worker health and well-being. This is particularly true in sonography, where work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs) are common. In response to the current challenge of understanding strategy implementation across social and organizational dimensions, this research captured sonographers...

The involvement of occupational therapy (OT) providers in work and industry (W&I) has noticeably diminished despite the historical and ontological connection between work and occupation. Clear career expectations are necessary to introduce and retain the OT workforce in this underrepresented yet essential practice area. This study aimed to describe...

This research pioneers the application of a machine learning framework to predict the perceived productivity of office workers using physiological, behavioral, and psychological features. Two approaches were compared: the baseline model, predicting productivity based on physiological and behavioral characteristics, and the extended model, incorpora...

Previous studies have solely focused on establishing Machine Learning (ML) models for automated detection of stress arousal. However, these studies do not recognize stress appraisal and presume stress is a negative mental state. Yet, stress can be classified according to its influence on individuals; the way people perceive a stressor determines wh...

Objective This study examined the implementation of a Doppler sonography imaging protocol to assess intraneural blood flow, within the median nerve, in healthy individuals. Materials and Methods A total of 176 participants were examined, and this involved 717 retrospective observations of the images collected. The implemented imaging protocol was...

Objective This work aimed to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the work of sonographers and vascular technologists. Materials and Methods A follow-up questionnaire was sent to an established registry of ultrasonography users who opted into a longitudinal research study examining worker health and wellbeing. Multiple questions related to t...

Objective Establish median nerve cross-sectional area (CSA) reference values and identify patient-level factors impacting diagnostic thresholds. Materials and Methods Studies were identified through a robust search of multiple databases, and quality assessment was conducted using a modified version of the National Institute of Health Study Quality...

Background: Active patient engagement and adherence are essential for successful rehabilitation outcomes, particularly in complex cases such as work-related musculoskeletal injuries. Although the therapist-patient relationship is a significant component of successful care coordination, there has been limited examination of this relationship within...

Workload experienced over the whole day, not just work periods, may impact worker cognitive performance. We hypothesized that experiencing greater than typical whole day workload would be associated with lower visual processing speed and lower sustained attention ability, on the next day. To test this, we used dynamic structural equation modeling t...

50 Studies Every Occupational Therapist Should Know presents a curated collection of the most influential studies guiding occupational therapy practice today. The text is organized into six practice areas, following the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) framework for OT practice: productive aging, health and wellness, work and indust...

Human-Building Interaction (HBI) is a convergent field that represents the growing complexities of the dynamic interplay between human experience and intelligence within built environments. This paper provides core definitions, research dimensions, and an overall vision for the future of HBI as developed through consensus among 25 interdisciplinary...

Importance: Fibromyalgia is a complex chronic pain condition for which effective nonpharmacological treatment interventions are lacking. Objective: To explore the effects of an occupational therapy intervention for fibromyalgia on client-reported outcomes of pain interference, self-efficacy, mood, and function. Design: Retrospective cohort study us...

We regularly face stress during our everyday activities, to the extent that stress is recognized by the World Health Organization as the epidemic of the 21st century. Stress is how humans respond physically and psychologically to adjustments, experiences, conditions, and circumstances in their lives. While there are many reasons for stress, work an...

Associations between various forms of activity engagement (e.g. work, leisure) and the experience of stress in workers have been widely documented. The mechanisms underlying these effects, however, are not fully understood. Our goal was to investigate if perceived whole day workload accounted for the relationships between daily frequencies of activ...

This paper seeks to address ten questions that explore the burgeoning field of Human-Building Interaction (HBI), an interdisciplinary field that represents the next frontier in convergent research and innovation to enable the dynamic interplay of human and building interactional intelligence. The field of HBI builds on several existing efforts in h...

Noise is often considered a distractor; however recent studies suggest that sub-attentive individuals or individuals diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can benefit from white noise to enhance their cognitive performance. Research regarding the effect of white noise on neurotypical adults presents mixed results, thus the implica...

Study Design Invited literature review Background Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in adults, and research shows that people living with arthritis experience work instability, loss of independence, financial difficulties, and overall decreased quality of life. Current nonpharmacological treatments can be beneficial for short term relie...

Date Presented 04/01/2022 We examined the relationships between participation in different extracurricular activities and the overall physical and mental health of OT students across a 2-year period. Participation in certain occupations was associated with positive mental health, and other occupations were linked to poorer physical health. Explorat...

Date Presented 03/31/2022 This multimethod study identified four themes within the therapist-patient relationship that affect the provision of holistic and collaborative care. Therapists developed a complex relationship with their patients, leading to high scores on measures of adherence and engagement. These findings provide a preliminary understa...

This article discusses the importance of conducting a longitudinal data collection concerning well-being and the risk for work-related musculoskeletal injuries (WRMSI) among sonographers and vascular technologists. There is a need for changes in the manner that sonographic work is done, but this should be nested in empirical evidence. This gives th...

Sedentary activity and static postures are associated with work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) and worker discomfort. Ergonomic evaluation for office workers is commonly performed by experts using tools such as the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA), but there is limited evidence suggesting sustained compliance with expert’s recommendati...

Background: Psychosocial sequelae are common for individuals with physical injuries to the upper extremity. However, psychosocially oriented interventions are not common in this occupational therapy practice area. Purpose: This study implemented an online survey of hand therapy patients’ psychological symptoms. Second, it explored patients’ interes...

Our objective was to investigate the validity of four-item and six-item versions of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX, or TLX for short) for measuring workload over a whole day in the repeated measures context. We analysed data on 51 people with type 1 diabetes from whom we collected ecological momentary as...

The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 virus forced office workers to conduct their daily work activities from home over an extended period. Given this unique situation, an opportunity emerged to study the satisfaction of office workers with indoor environmental quality (IEQ) factors of their houses where work activities took place and associate these factors...

Occupational health and safety is experiencing a paradigm shift from focusing only on health at the workplace toward a holistic approach and worker well-being framework that considers both work and non-work factors. Aligned with this shift, the purpose of this pilot study was to examine how, within a person, frequencies of high-workload and recover...

Introduction/Aims There is a lack of consensus regarding median nerve movement in the carpal tunnel during composite finger flexion in healthy individuals. This study aimed to examine the amount and direction of median nerve movement and differentiate nerve mobility between dominant and non-dominant sides in a large healthy young adult cohort. Met...

Background The paucity of longitudinal clinical studies limits our understanding of the development of shoulder pain with repetitive shoulder tasks, and its association with underlying mind and body mechanisms. Tendon thickening characterizes painful shoulder supraspinatus tendinopathy, and the perception of pain can be affected by the presence of...

Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) symptoms are problematic especially when signs and symptoms are not substantial enough to require surgical intervention. Conservative treatments have mixed effectiveness, yet are one of the best options for mild to moderate CTS. Kinesio tape is an emerging modality, as it provides biomechanical support whil...

Objective: To evaluate the quality of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) patient education handouts and identify the best resources for patients and clinicians. Design: A document content analysis of handouts identified through a systematic internet search using 8 search terms on Google and Bing and a hand search of professional association websites....

Background: With the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations embraced Work From Home (WFH). An important component of transitioning to WFH is the effect on workers, particularly related to their productivity and work experience. Objectives: The objective of this study is to examine how worker-, workspace-, and work-related factors affected productivity...

Date Presented Accepted for AOTA INSPIRE 2021 but unable to be presented due to online event limitations. We examined the relationships between participation in different extracurricular activities and the overall physical and mental health in college students across a 2-year period. Participation in certain occupations was associated with positive...

Date Presented Accepted for AOTA INSPIRE 2021 but unable to be presented due to online event limitations. This study systematically located and evaluated 56 patient education handouts for carpal tunnel syndrome. Handouts were reviewed for overall quality on the basis of completeness and accuracy of the content and readability for patients. Our find...

Date Presented Accepted for AOTA INSPIRE 2021 but unable to be presented due to online event limitations. Repetitive wrist and hand movement is a risk factor for carpal tunnel syndrome. During daily functional hand use, some people develop carpal tunnel syndrome. However, the exact mechanism of injury remains unknown. We evaluated the effect of fun...

Date Presented Accepted for AOTA INSPIRE 2021 but unable to be presented due to online event limitations. OTs have a major role in the conservative care of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) before surgery; however, best treatment practices are unclear as a result of conflicting recommendations among professional disciplines. We collected and analyzed pr...

Date Presented Accepted for AOTA INSPIRE 2021 but unable to be presented due to online event limitations. This study explored office workers' perspectives on including artificial intelligence (AI) in their office workspace. Following an iterative analysis of six focus-group interviews with a total of 45 participants, three constructs emerged. Rich...

Date Presented Accepted for AOTA INSPIRE 2021 but unable to be presented due to online event limitations. Although multiple robust ergonomics tools are available to assess postural risk, these tools are often too general and do not consider nuances of specific jobs. This study examined the concurrent validity of a postural assessment tool tailored...

Stay-at-home mandates following the COVID-19 pandemic increased work from home (WFH). While WFH offers many benefits, navigating work in nontraditional contexts can be a challenge. The objective of this study was to explore the benefits and challenges of WFH during COVID-19 to identify supports and resources necessary. Comments from two free-respon...

We are at a pivotal point in determining what the future holds for remote work and work from home (WFH). Many organizations are currently examining the costs and benefits associated with maintaining physical facilities as opposed to reducing overhead by maintaining or encouraging remote work. Simultaneously, we are entering an era in which supporti...

Objective: To describe extracurricular activity participation and explore its relationship with college students' health. Participants: 159 college students majoring in dental hygiene or occupational therapy. Methods: Data were collected prospectively at baseline, one- and two-year follow-ups. Self-reported participation in extracurricular activiti...

Background: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are prevalent in dental hygienists. Although engineering controls and ergonomic training is available, it is unclear why this intransigent problem continues. One possible barrier is that a comprehensive, standardized protocol for evaluating dental hygiene work does not exist. Objective: This stu...

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems account for 43% of building energy consumption, yet only 38% of commercial building occupants are satisfied with the thermal environment. The primary reasons for low occupant satisfaction are that HVAC operations do not integrate occupant comfort requirements nor control the thermal environm...

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) treatment contains ambiguities across and within disciplines. This meta-synthesis of professional guidelines consolidates clinical treatment recommendations for CTS treatment and classifies them by strength of evidence. We conducted a search of Google, Google Scholar, and PubMed for published clinical treatment recommen...

Objective: To understand impacts of social, behavioral and physical factors on well-being of office workstation users during COVID-19 work from home (WFH). Methods: A questionnaire was deployed from April 24 to June 11, 2020 and 988 responses were valid. Linear regression, multinomial logistic regression and chi-square tests were used to underst...

Workplace environments have a significant impact on worker performance, health, and well-being. With machine learning capabilities, artificial intelligence (AI) can be developed to automate individualized adjustments to work environments (e.g., lighting, temperature) and to facilitate healthier worker behaviors (e.g., posture). Worker perspectives...

Objectives This study developed a musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) protocol to evaluate rehabilitation outcomes in systemic sclerosis. Materials and Methods Three MSUS methods (gray-scale, Doppler, strain elastography) and two acquisition techniques (long- vs short-axis; transducer on skin vs floating on gel) were examined in the forearm before a...

Purpose: Dental hygiene graduates often experience significant psychological stress while transitioning from the educational setting to clinical practice environments. The purpose of this study was to characterize the duration of dental hygiene activities and tasks and explore efficiency within appointments, by students in educational programs.Meth...

Importance: Head-mounted displays for virtual reality (HMD-VR) may be used as a therapeutic medium in physical rehabilitation because of their ability to immerse patients in safe, controlled, and engaging virtual worlds. Objective: To explore how HMD-VR has been used in adult physical rehabilitation. Data sources: A systematic search of MEDLIN...

Introduction Translational evidence for mind–body interventions in hand therapy is limited. This pilot study aimed to determine potential benefits of including a mindful body scan or sonographic biofeedback at the outset of a hand therapy session on key psychological states. Methods A randomized, repeated-measures, cross-over design was used to ev...

Purpose This study aimed to develop a subjective categorization of nerve shape and to examine the relationship of shape categorizations to measurement of nerve circularity. Methods Wrists were evaluated with sonography in healthy participants. Images of the median nerve were obtained in the transverse plane at the level of pisiform with the finger...

Mind–body interventions are a viable holistic approach to rehabilitation; however, evidence for mind–body approaches in hand therapy is lacking. This study explored the experiences of clients with musculoskeletal disorders undergoing two mind–body interventions within hand therapy. Qualitative data were obtained from clients who received mindfulnes...

Introduction The Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) is an ergonomic assessment tool used to screen for risk of musculoskeletal injury due to working posture. The RULA is traditionally applied once during a work task to approximate overall risk. No method exists for estimating a RULA score for work requiring frequent shifts in posture across an exte...

Date Presented 04/05/19 A longitudinal multicohort study was conducted to evaluate the impact of task training on upper-extremity musculoskeletal discomfort in health professional students. Differential effects on pain and grip strength were noted in dental hygiene students as compared to OT students. This study validates that repetitive task train...

People spend most of their day in buildings, and a large portion of the energy in buildings is used to control the indoor environment for creating acceptable conditions for occupants. However, the majority of the building systems are controlled based on a “one size fits all” scheme which cannot account for individual occupant preferences. This lead...

A hallmark of a successful, high-impact scientific profes- sional journal is a rigorous peer-review process, which ensures that all articles published in the journal will posi- tively advance knowledge and practice. The editorial team of the Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (JDMS) is committed to providing our readers with excel- lent scien...

Introduction Kinesio tape is an alternative non-surgical treatment approach for addressing symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. The purpose of the study was to investigate individuals’ experiences with the dorsal application of Kinesio tape for carpal tunnel syndrome management and its impact on pain and function. Method The study design was a limi...

Background: The authors' objective in this systematic review was to describe the evidence for preventive and rehabilitative interventions for musculoskeletal disorders in oral health care. Types of studies reviewed: The authors conducted systematic search, screening, and eligibility processes to identify experimental, quasiexperimental, observat...

Background Median nerve cross-sectional area (CSA) is the primary sonographic parameter for assessing and diagnosing median nerve pathology, such as carpal tunnel syndrome. However, variability in the sensitivity of diagnostic thresholds exists, which may be due to a lack of standardized normative reference values. Current estimates of normal media...

Date Presented 4/21/2018 This mapping review describes the scope of literature published over 10 years on the rehabilitation of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders. Cross comparisons of diagnoses, interventions, and outcomes illuminate priorities for future work (e.g., occupation-based interventions and outcomes). Primary Author and Speaker:...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop a video-based observational method to identify risk of musculoskeletal strain in dental hygienists. Nearly 70% of dental hygienists experience upper extremity musculoskeletal injuries (Hayes et al., 2009) because of pinch, repetitive motion, and awkward postures required to complete scaling of patie...

Musculoskeletal sonography is being widely used for evaluation of structures within the carpal tunnel. While some anatomical variants, such as bifurcated median nerves and persistent median arteries, have been well documented, limited literature describes the sonographic appearance of aberrant muscle bellies within the carpal tunnel. Multiple examp...

Background: There is a significantly high rate of work-related musculsokeletal injuries in sonography professionals. To date, assessment of risk factors for work- related injuries in sonographers has been based primarily on surveys, subjective reports, and observational methods. There is a need to develop quantitative techniques to better understa...

Study Design Mapping review. Introduction Although published literature and evidence to support medical practice is becoming more abundant, it is not known how well available evidence supports the full spectrum of hand therapy practice. Purpose of the Study The aim of this mapping review was to identify strengths and/or gaps in the available lite...

Musculoskeletal sonography is rapidly extending beyond radiology; however, best practices for successful integration into new practice contexts are unknown. This study explored non-physician experiences with the processes of training and integration of musculoskeletal sonography into rehabilitation. Qualitative data were captured through multiple s...

Occupational therapy practitioners are key health care providers for people with musculoskeletal disorders of the distal upper extremity. It is imperative that practitioners understand the most effective and efficient means for remediating impairments and supporting clients in progressing to independence in purposeful occupations. This systematic r...

People with musculoskeletal disorders of the shoulder commonly experience pain, decreased strength, and restricted range of motion (ROM) that limit participation in meaningful occupational activities. The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the current evidence for interventions within the occupational therapy scope of practice that a...

Musculoskeletal conditions are the second greatest cause of disability worldwide, and chronic musculoskeletal conditions affect nearly the same percentage of the general population as chronic circulatory and respiratory conditions combined. Moreover, people with musculoskeletal conditions experience a significant decline in independence with daily...

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders are a significant burden; however, no consensus has been reached on how to maximize occupational rehabilitation programs for people with these disorders, and the impact of simulating work tasks as a mode of intervention has not been well examined. In this retrospective cohort study, the authors used logistic r...

Date Presented 4/8/2016 This scoping review describes how mindfulness interventions are being used for rehabilitation of physical disorders. Mindfulness interventions fit within the scope of occupational therapy for physical disorders, but there is a dearth of research translating this to practice-based settings. Primary Author and Speaker: Mark Ha...

A scoping review was conducted to describe how mindfulness is used in physical rehabilitation, identify implications for occupational therapy practice, and guide future research on clinical mindfulness interventions. A systematic search of four literature databases produced 1,524 original abstracts, of which 16 articles were included. Although only...

BACKGROUND: Musculoskeletal sonography use in point-of-care physical medicine and rehabilitation is rapidly expanding, not only by physiatrists, but also by non-physician rehabilitation providers. AIM: To evaluate the current range, extent and nature of literature and to identify emerging areas of evidence for the use of musculoskeletal sonography...

To identify the potential utility of musculoskeletal sonographic imaging in upper-extremity rehabilitation. Two occupational therapists in an outpatient hand rehabilitation clinic were recruited by convenience, were trained in the use of sonography, and implemented sonographic imaging in their clinical practice. Qualitative data were obtained durin...

Date Presented 4/16/2015 Sonography is a relatively inexpensive imaging modality that provides real-time, dynamic views of anatomical structures. This session will discuss the results of a qualitative descriptive study that revealed a wide range of uses for sonography by occupational therapists.

Occupational therapy practice is grounded in the delivery of occupation-centered, patient-driven treatments that engage clients in the process of doing to improve health. As emerging technologies, such as medical imaging, find their way into rehabilitation practice, it is imperative that occupational therapy practitioners assess whether and how the...

OBJECTIVE : Non-physician rehabilitation providers (e.g., occupational/physical therapists) have requisite expertise for effective use of point-of-care musculoskeletal sonography (MSKUS); however, professional curriculums provide only introductory-level image interpretation, at best. This multi-method study evaluated post-professional competency de...

This study evaluated reliability of measures for superficial structures of the male pelvic floor (PF) obtained via transperineal sonography. Two embalmed cadavers were dissected to identify positioning of muscles on and around the bulb of the penis and to confirm the PF protocol. Cross-sectional area (CSA) and linear thickness of the bulb of the pe...