Associate Professor, Founding Dean
She/her/ella, white, cisgender, heterosexual, LGBTQIA+ ally
Favorite occupations: Cooking/baking, hiking, traveling, working with glass, knitting, gardening, spending time with friends and family
Dr. Fritz has been an occupational therapist for nearly two decades. She received her M.S. in Occupational Therapy from Winston Salem State University and her Ph.D. in Occupational Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Wayne State University Institute of Gerontology. Dr. Fritz’s research focuses on understanding how individuals may prevent or delay conditions or disability in later life and developing and testing preventative interventions. Her current work focuses on frailty prevention and chronic condition self-management among socially disadvantaged populations. Recognized for her teaching, service, and research, she has served as a clinical educator, educated and mentored numerous health professions students, and served on a variety of professional workgroups, panels, and advisory boards. Her scholarly contributions include over 40 research articles and five book chapters, and she has secured over $8 million in external funding.
Clinical Interests
Older adults; frailty; community-based programming; OT in primary care; health management occupations; health promotion/disease prevention; clinical research
Research Areas
Chronic condition prevention and management (theory, intervention research)
Occupational science (theory, habits, action, and environment re daily activities)
Aging (Phenomenology of aging, occupation, frailty, neighborhood environments)
Socially disadvantaged populations (Racial/ethnic minorities, low income, and rural populations)
Google Scholar link: tinyurl.com/3uhzauvm
CV