Pamela E. Toto

Pamela Toto is an occupational therapist and is an assistant professor of occupational therapy and the program director of the Clinical Science Doctorate in Occupational Therapy program at the University of Pittsburgh. She is board certified in gerontology and is a fellow of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). In 2016, she received the AOTA Award of Recognition for her efforts in community-based practice to promote aging in place. Dr. Toto has more than 26 years of clinical rehabilitation experience as an occupational therapist, providing services to older adults as a clinician, manager, consultant, and educator in the community and in long-term care settings. She has extensive experience in developing and managing occupational therapy intervention programs and has been invited to share this knowledge throughout the United States.

Dr. Toto’s research program focuses on the development of client-centered interventions to promote independence, participation, and healthy aging in older adults. She has completed research examining the impact of a best-practice physical activity program using activity-based goals on ADL performance in older adults, investigating the use of environmental supports to enhance function in community-dwelling older adults, and exploring the feasibility of client-centered goal setting with medically complex older adults in primary care. Dr. Toto has also collaborated on research investigating the use of passive sensor systems to monitor functional performance in older adults. Dr. Toto’s most current research explores the impact of a compensatory intervention using goal attainment scaling with frail older adults transitioning to home following inpatient rehabilitation in a skilled nursing facility.