People Directory

Suzanne Burns

Associate Professor (University of New Mexico)
Suzanne Burns
Enderis Hall

Suzanne Perea Burns, PhD, OTR/L, is Associate Professor in the Division of Occupational Therapy at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. Dr. Burns received her BS and MOT from the University of New Mexico, PhD from Texas Woman’s University, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship sponsored by the American Heart Association at the Medical University of South Carolina. Dr. Burns’ research has primarily focused on the development, testing, and implementation of mobile health (mHealth) assessments and interventions to improve community living outcomes for people with disability. A second major research focus is on addressing health and participation disparities among racial/ethnic minorities living with the effects of stroke through the development and evaluation of culturally-tailored and technology-enhanced interventions. As a rehabilitation research scientist, she contributes expertise at the intersection of post-stroke disability and community living. Dr. Burns’ contributions have been disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and presentations, service on national boards, mentoring, and successful acquisition of competitive extramural and intramural grants as either PI or Co-I.   

Dr. Burns has been engaged with the R2D2 team since 2013 where her initial role was graduate research associate on the NIDILRR-funded HESTIA grant. Specifically, she was part of the content development team led by Dr. Noralyn Pickens at Texas Woman’s University. Dr. Burns has continued to collaborate on projects with the R2D2 team including her co-investigator roles on AccessRatings for Buildings and HESTIA-NextGen. 

Keywords: Community Integration, Stroke Rehabilitation, Disabled Persons, Health Disparities, Health Equity, Smartphone, Telemedicine 

Selected Publications: 

  1. Burns, S. P., Mendonca, R., Pickens, N. D., & Smith, R. O. (2021). “America’s housing crisis: Perpetuating disparities among people with disability.”  Disability and Society. epub ahead of print
  2.  Juengst, S. B., Terhorst, L., Nabasny, A., Wallace, T., Weaver, J., Osborne, C.L., Burns, S.P., Wright, B., Wen, P., Kew, C.N., & Morris, J. (2021).  Use of mHealth technology for patient-reported outcomes in community-dwelling adults with acquired brain injuries: A scoping review.   International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health., 18 (4), 1-23, doi: 10.3390/ijerph18042173 
  3. Burns, S. P., Terblanche, M., Perea, J. D., Lillard, H., DeLaPena, C., N. Grinage, A. MacKinen, & E. Cox (2021).  mHealth intervention applications for adults living with the effects of stroke: A scoping review.   Archives of Rehabilitation Research and Clinical Trials., 3 (1),  doi: 10.1016/j.arrct.2020.100095. epub ahead of print
  4. Akinwuntan, A., Hu, X., Terrill, A., Burns, S. P., Hay, C. C., Belagaje, S.R. (2021).  Young stroke: Resources for patients, families, and caregivers for long-term community living.   Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation., 102 (5), 1035-1039.
  5. Pickens, N. D., Mendonca, R., Burns, S. P.,& Smith, R. O. (2020).  Home safety evaluation – getting it right: HESTIA usability testing.   Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology., doi: 10.1080/17483107.2020.1805033. epub ahead of print 
  6. Roberts, P., Krishnan, S., Burns, S. P., Oullette, D., & Pappadis, M. (2020).  Inconsistent Classification of Mild Stroke and Implications of Health Services.   Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation., 101 (7), doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2019.12.013. epub ahead of print
  7. Burns, S. P., Pickens, N. D., Dawson, D. R., Perea, J., Vas, A., Marquez de la Plata, C., & Neville, M. (2020).  In-home contextual reality: A qualitative analysis using the Multiple Errands Test Home Version (MET-Home).   Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 30 (5), 787-801, doi: 10.1080/09602011.2018.1431134. 
  8. Burns, S. P., Dawson, D. R., Perea, J. D., Vas, A., Pickens, N. D., Neville, M. (2019).  Development, reliability, and validity of the Multiple Errands Test Home Version (MET-Home) in adults with stroke.   American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 73 (3), 1-10, doi: 10.5014/ajot.2019.027755. 
  9. Buie, J. N., Zhao, Y., Burns, S., Magwood, G., Adams, R. J., C. Sims-Robinson, D.T. Lackland (2019).  Racial disparities in stroke recovery persistence in the post-acute stroke recovery phase: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study.   Ethnicity & Disease, 30 (2), 339-348, doi: 10.18865/ed.30.2.339. 
  10. Magwood, G. S., Ellis, C., Nichols, M., Burns, S. P., Jenkins, C., M. Woodbury, R.J. Adams (2019).  Barriers and facilitators of stroke recovery: Perspectives from African Americans with stroke, caregivers, and healthcare professionals.   Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases, 28 (9), 2507-25-16, doi: 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2019.06.012. 
  11. Scott, S., Burns, S. P., Schwartz, J., & Kovic, M. (2019).  Return to work after mild stroke.   Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 100 (2), 379-383, doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2018.05.004. 
  12. Burns, S. P., Dawson, D. R., Perea, J. D., Vas, A., Pickens, N., Marquez de la Plata, M., & Neville, M. (2019).  Associations between self-generated strategy use and MET-Home performance in adults with stroke.   Neuropsychological Rehabilitation., doi: 10.1080/09602011.2019.1601112. 
  13. Schwartz, J., Capo-Lugo, C., Akinwuntan, A.., Roberts, P., Krishnan, S., Belgage S., Kovic, M., Burns, S., Hu, X., Danzl, M., Hannes, D., Page, S. (2019).  Classification of mild stroke: A mapping review.   PM&R (Philadelphia, 2009) : The Journal of Injury, Function and Rehabilitation., doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/pmrj.12142. 
  14. Burns, S. P., Lutz, B., & Magwood, G. S. (2019).  Timing it Right in the stroke belt: Needs of African American adults with stroke and their caregivers across the care continuum,.   Ethnicity and Health, 1-15, doi: 10.1080/13557858.2019.1693512. epub ahead of print
  15. Burns, S. P., White, B., Magwood, G. S., Ellis, C., Logan, A., Buie, J.N., & Adams, R.J. (2019).  Racial and ethnic disparities in post-stroke disability: A scoping review of assessment tools.   Disability and Rehabilitation, 41 (15), 1835-1845, doi: 10.1080/09638288.2018.1448467. 
  16. Devos, H., Hong, I., Frias, A., Burns, S. P., Schwartz, J., & Akinwuntan, A. (2018).  Driving after mild stroke.   Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 99, 935-397, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2018.05.001. 
  17. Burns, S. P., Mueller, M., Magwood, G. S., & White, B. M. (2018).  Racial and ethnic differences in post-stroke subjective cognitive decline exist.   Disability and Health Journal, 12 (2019), 87-92, doi: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2018.08.005. 
  18. Burns, S. P., Schwartz, J., Scott, S., Devos, H., Kovic, M., Hong, I., & Akinwuntan, A. (2018).  Interdisciplinary approaches to facilitate return-to-driving and return-to-work in mild stroke: A position paper.   Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation., 99 (11), 2378-2388, doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2018.01.032. 
  19. White, B., Magwood, G., Burns, S. P., & Ellis, C. (2017).  Sex differences in patient-reported post-stroke disability.   Journal of Women’s Health, 27 (4), 518-524, doi: 10.1089/jwh.2017.6525.
  20. Burns, S. P., Pickens, N. D., & Smith, R. O. (2017).  Interprofessional client-centered reasoning processes in home modification practice.   Journal of Housing for the Elderly, 3, 213-228, doi: 10.0180/02763893.2017.1280679. 
  21. Burns, S. C., & Neville, M. (2016).  Cognitive assessment trends in home health care for adults with mild stroke.   American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 70 (2), 1-8, doi: 10.5014/ajot.2016.016543. 
  22. Burns, S. P., & Pickens, N. D. (2016).  Embedding technology into inter-professional best practices in home safety evaluation.   Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 1-7, doi: 10.1080/17483107.2016.1189000. 
  23. Crowe, T. K., Burns, S. P., Sedillo, J. S., Hendrix, I. C., Winkle, M., & Deitz, J. (2014).  Effects of partnerships between people with mobility challenges and service dogs.   American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68, 194-202, doi: 10.5014/ajot.2014.009324.