Allen Keener

Allen Keener, PhD, OTD, OTR/L, ATP

Dr. Keener has practiced occupational therapy in a variety of settings, including outpatient adults and pediatrics, skilled nursing, inpatient rehab, acute care, inpatient mental health, home health, and rehab management. He became certified as an Assistive Technology Professional (ATP) through the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA) and maintains assistive technology as a scholarship interest. Dr. Keener also holds additional credentials in adult mental health, online teaching and course development, and physical agent modalities.   

Prior to becoming an occupational therapist, Dr. Keener was a fifth grade teacher. With over a decade of experience in higher education as a professor and administrator, he is passionate about shaping the development of future occupational therapists. His interests in occupational therapy include, but are not limited to: occupation-based practice, OT’s unique role in psychosocial and community practice, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and enabling occupation through assistive technology across the lifespan. He serves the profession on a national level as a member of the Roster of Accreditation Evaluators (RAE) on the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE)

Research & Scholarly Interests

• Assistive technology
• Health literacy
• Mental health and community practice 
• Teaching and learning (traditional, online, and hybrid)

Select Publications

• Egan, B., Sears, C., & Keener, A. (Eds.). (2023). Occupational Therapy Groups for Addressing Mental Health Challenges in School-Aged Populations: A Tier 2 Resource. Slack Inc.
• Keener, A.S. & Howell, D.M. (2022). A model for delivery of orthopedic perioperative education via telehealth. Orthopedic Nursing, 41(3), 229-236. https://doi.org/10.1097/NOR.000000000000852
• Gentry, B., Harris, S., Hayden, C., & Keener, A. (2022). Interprofessional collaboration with occupational therapy assistant and physical therapist assistant student through a simulated academic setting. International Journal of Health Sciences Education, 9(1), Article 4. https://dc.etsu.edu/ijhse/vol9/iss1/4/
• von Hellens, K., Skubik-Peplaski, C., & Keener, A. (2022). Digital walk through digital talk: Lessons learned. Assistive Technology Outcomes and Benefits, 16(1), 58-74.
• Keener, A. S., Hayden, C. L., & Howell, D. M. (2021). Impacting occupational therapy assistant student knowledge about occupation and occupation-based practice. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 9(2), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.15453/2168-6408.1741
• Spira, G. & Keener, A. (2021). Tacit to explicit knowledge transfer in a university health care program: Use of student-professor and professor-professor collaboration. 2020 Pedagogicon Conference Proceedings. https://encompass.eku.edu/pedagogicon/2020/reciprocity/1

Education

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Rehabilitation and Health Sciences, University of Kentucky
• Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD), Eastern Kentucky University
• Master of Science (MS), Occupational Therapy, University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Bachelor of Science (BS), Education, University of Alabama at Birmingham