CROR Outcomes Summer 2025

Summer 2025

Focus Groups Provide Insights about Mental Health Needs of People with Spinal Cord Injury

The Center for Rehabilitation Outcomes Research at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab recently held focus groups with individuals living with spinal cord injury (SCI) to better understand their mental health concerns. Participants emphasized the need for greater access to community resources and

mental health services. These insights will help guide the development of targeted recommendations and tools for rehabilitation professionals and mental health providers to ensure more responsive and effective care.

Read the Insights

CROR Director Named Mentor of the Year

On May 5, Center for Rehabilitation Outcomes Research director, Allen Heinemann, PhD, (above holding flowers) received the Mentor of the Year Award from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medical Faculty Council.

Dr. Heinemann, who is also professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Feinberg, has mentored dozens of graduate and medical students, post-doctoral fellows, residents and early-career scientists over his 43-year career. Many of his mentees have gone on to become leaders in rehabilitation psychology, rehabilitation measurement and rehabilitation-focused health services research.

Read about Dr. Heinemann's Award

An Online Exercise and Wellness Program for

People with Mobility Limitations

MENTOR is a personalized online exercise and wellness program for individuals with mobility limitations, created by the National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability. In this article, MENTOR participant Tim Behrens shares how the program was a transformative experience in his recovery from COVID-19, marking a "turning point" after complications including several strokes, partial paralysis and long COVID.

Read More About the MENTOR Program

Rehabilitation Measures Database Update

You may have noticed some changes to the Rehabilitation Measures Database to ensure accuracy and ease of use as the resource continues to grow. To help you more quickly and efficiently find the measures you need, we've optimized and simplified our search features, added a more intuitive interface and improved filtering options for clearer results. Whether you're searching by condition, population or assessment type, our updated tools are designed to save you time and deliver the information you need -- when you need it.

Additionally, we've just added a new measure, the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale, summarized by Benjamin Petrie, MD, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab SCI fellow.

Interested in partnering with us to update measure summaries? We work with allied health graduate students around the world to ensure that each measure has the most up-to-date psychometric data, validity and reliability information for different populations.

CROR Collaborator Profiles

Kevin Fearn: Behind the Scenes of the Rehabilitation Measures Database

Project coordinator Kevin Fearn helps manage the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab Rehabilitation Measures Database (RMD). With decades of experience managing data systems at the National Safety Council, Kevin is passionate about using data to improve outcomes. Since joining CROR in 2023, he’s been instrumental in expanding and supporting the database.

Meet Kevin

Cindy Cai, PhD: Translating Knowledge to Help People Navigate Life After Injury

Cindy Cai, PhD, is principal investigator and project director of the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center (MSKTC). She has worked hard to make the center a go-to destination for free, easy-to-understand, research-based resources for people living with spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury and burn injury.

Meet Cindy

New Podcast Episode

On this episode of CROR's INside the OUTcomes podcast, we explore how occupational therapy (OT) graduate students at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) contribute to the Rehabilitation Measures Database.

Our guests are Sabrin Rizk, PhD, OTR/L, assistant professor of occupational therapy in the UIC College of Applied Health Sciences, and OT graduate student, Asianna Griffin.

Find the podcast on ⁠Spotify ⁠, ⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ or ⁠YouTube ⁠.

CROR Outcomes is produced by the Center for Rehabilitation Outcomes Research at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. It is supported by a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grants 90DPK0007, 90DPHF0012). The contents of this newsletter do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR.

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