Mary Slavin, PT, PhD



EDC Co-Director| mslavin@bu.edu

SlavinMary Slavin, PT, PhD co-directs the Evaluation and Dissemination Core at the Center on Health Services Training and Research. Dr. Slavin brings expertise in three areas central to IDC activities: program evaluation, dissemination and conference planning. She has considerable experience in program evaluation. Dr. Slavin currently manages the evaluation component of the Boston Rehabilitation Outcomes Measurement Center (Boston ROC), the National Arthritis Rehabilitation Research and Training Center–Enhancing Activity for Persons with Arthritis (ENACT) and the Advanced Rehabilitation Research and Training fellowship program (ARRT), all housed at Boston University. Dr. Slavin is also responsible for Boston ROC and ENACT dissemination efforts. She developed dissemination strategies and managed websites for both centers. These dissemination efforts have been extremely effective and both centers have engaged large international audiences. Finally, over the last 14 years, Dr. Slavin has been responsible for organizing and conducting 15 successful professional conferences, including several related to health services research. Each event met or exceeded specified targets in terms of attendance, participant satisfaction, knowledge goals and financial considerations. Dr. Slavin will bring these areas of expertise to support and ensure the success of CoHSTAR. Dr. Slavin is a graduate and recipient of degrees in physical therapy from Northeastern University and Boston University and holds a PhD in Experimental Psychology from Clark University

Professional Interests

Dr. Slavin’s interests include promoting evidence-based practice in rehabilitation and use of appropriate measures to assess rehabilitation outcomes. 

Selected Publications

  • Pardasaney PK, Ni P, Slavin MD, Latham NK, Wagenaar RC, Bean J, Jette AM. Computer-adaptive balance testing improves discrimination between community-dwelling elderly fallers and nonfallers. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2014 Jul; 95(7):1320-1327.e1.
    View in: PubMed
  • Slavin MD. Invited commentary. Phys Ther. 2014 Mar; 94(3):321-2.
    View in: PubMed
  • Pardasaney PK, Slavin MD, Wagenaar RC, Latham NK, Ni P, Jette AM. Conceptual limitations of balance measures for community-dwelling older adults. Phys Ther. 2013 Oct; 93(10):1351-68.
    View in: PubMed
  • Kratz AL, Slavin MD, Mulcahey MJ, Jette AM, Tulsky DS, Haley SM. An examination of the PROMIS(®) pediatric instruments to assess mobility in children with cerebral palsy. Qual Life Res. 2013 Dec; 22(10):2865-76.
    View in: PubMed
  • Jette AM, Tulsky DS, Ni P, Kisala PA, Slavin MD, Dijkers MP, Heinemann AW, Tate DG, Whiteneck G, Charlifue S, Houlihan B, Williams S, Kirshblum S, Dyson-Hudson T, Zanca J, Fyffe D. Development and initial evaluation of the spinal cord injury-functional index. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2012 Oct; 93(10):1733-50.
    View in: PubMed
  • Tulsky DS, Jette AM, Kisala PA, Kalpakjian C, Dijkers MP, Whiteneck G, Ni P, Kirshblum S, Charlifue S, Heinemann AW, Forchheimer M, Slavin MD, Houlihan B, Tate DG, Dyson-Hudson T, Fyffe DG, Williams S, Zanca J. Spinal cord injury-functional index: item banks to measure physical functioning in individuals with spinal cord injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2012 Oct; 93(10):1722-32.
    View in: PubMed
  • Pardasaney PK, Latham NK, Jette AM, Wagenaar RC, Ni P, Slavin MD, Bean JF. Sensitivity to change and responsiveness of four balance measures for community-dwelling older adults. Phys Ther. 2012 Mar; 92(3):388-97.
    View in: PubMed
  • Slavin MD, Kisala PA, Jette AM, Tulsky DS. Developing a contemporary functional outcome measure for spinal cord injury research. Spinal Cord. 2010 Mar; 48(3):262-7.
    View in: PubMed
  • Nabulsi M, Harris J, Letelier L, Ramos K, Hopayian K, Parkin C, Porzsolt F, Sestini P, Slavin M, Summerskill W. Effectiveness of education in evidence-based healthcare: the current state of outcome assessments and a framework for future evaluations. Int J Evid Based Healthc. 2007 Dec; 5(4):468-76.
    View in: PubMed
  • Haley SM, Ni P, Hambleton RK, Slavin MD, Jette AM. Computer adaptive testing improved accuracy and precision of scores over random item selection in a physical functioning item bank. J Clin Epidemiol. 2006 Nov; 59(11):1174-82.
    View in: PubMed
  • Latham NK, Jette DU, Slavin M, Richards LG, Procino A, Smout RJ, Horn SD. Physical therapy during stroke rehabilitation for people with different walking abilities. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2005 Dec; 86(12 Suppl 2):S41-S50.
    View in: PubMed
  • Jette DU, Latham NK, Smout RJ, Gassaway J, Slavin MD, Horn SD. Physical therapy interventions for patients with stroke in inpatient rehabilitation facilities. Phys Ther. 2005 Mar; 85(3):238-48.
    View in: PubMed
  • Dejong G, Horn SD, Gassaway JA, Slavin MD, Dijkers MP. Toward a taxonomy of rehabilitation interventions: Using an inductive approach to examine the “black box” of rehabilitation. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2004 Apr; 85(4):678-86.
    View in: PubMed
  • Laughton CA, Slavin M, Katdare K, Nolan L, Bean JF, Kerrigan DC, Phillips E, Lipsitz LA, Collins JJ. Aging, muscle activity, and balance control: physiologic changes associated with balance impairment. Gait Posture. 2003 Oct; 18(2):101-8.
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  • Jette DU, Slavin MD, Andres PL, Munsat TL. The relationship of lower-limb muscle force to walking ability in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Phys Ther. 1999 Jul; 79(7):672-81.
    View in: PubMed
  • Slavin MD, Jette DU, Andres PL, Munsat TL. Lower extremity muscle force measures and functional ambulation in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1998 Aug; 79(8):950-4.
    View in: PubMed