She is the Principal Investigator of African American Outreach Satellite of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Dr. Edwards is a member of the Gerontological Society of American, the American Occupational Therapy Association, the American Psychological Association, and American Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine. Over the past twenty years tremendous progress had been made in the neurological treatment of persons with stroke and traumatic brain injury. Critical care treatments have led to substantially increased survival for persons with severe strokes and traumatic brain injuries. At this time, little is known about the quality of life experienced by individuals who have survived serious brain injury.
Stroke is the major cause of disability in adults in the United States.
Disability due to stroke is a major public health problem that costs an estimated 13 billion dollars per year. Although most people who survive stroke recover to some degree, this recovery is often incomplete, leaving the individual with significant occupational performance deficits. We know very little about the factors influencing the full recovery of life roles and participation in prior activities. These deficits often produce long term need for assistance from caregivers and society. Over the past two years we have initiated a series of studies designed to characterize the relationship between different types of cognitive, sensorimotor, visual spatial impairments and functional status across the continuum of care as well as to relate these measures to occupational performance and quality of life after a person returns to the community.