Malcolm P. Cutchin, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Occupational Science
Department of Allied Health Sciences
Bondurant Hall, Suite 2050
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7122
Phone: 919-843-4472
Fax: 919-966-9007
Email: mcutchin@med.unc.edu

Senior Research Scientist, UNC Institute on Aging
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Applied Gerontology
 
Malcolm Cutchin began his appointment in the Division of Occupational Science in August 2005. He received a BA in Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin in 1984 and a MA and PhD in Geography at the University of Kentucky in 1992 and 1995. He previously held appointments at Middlebury College (Geography) and the University of Texas Medical Branch (Occupational Therapy & Sealy Center on Aging). Malcolm also is a Senior Research Scientist at the UNC Institute on Aging. His research has been funded by the National Institute on Aging and the National Cancer Institute, and his work generally falls into the category of human-place relationships and well-being. Project foci have included rural physicians and communities, assisted living residences, ethnic populations living near petrochemical plants, and preventive home visits for at-risk older adults. He uses both qualitative and quantitative methods in research, and he has an abiding interest in philosophy and theory—the writings of John Dewey and those who study Dewey figure prominently in his thinking and writing. He has been actively involved in groups within the Association of American Geographers and the Society for the Study of Occupation: USA.

Curriculum Vitae
Areas of Interest

  • Health geography (social epidemiology, rural health care)

  • Geographical dimensions of aging (community-based care for older adults)

  • Occupation and activity as creators of well-being

  • American pragmatism (Dewey and Mead) and its utility for inquiry

Recent Publications

Cutchin, M. P., Marshall, V. W., & Aldrich, R. M. (in press). Moving to a continuing care retirement community: Occupations in the therapeutic landscape process. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology.

Stowe, R., Peek, M. K., Perez, N. A., Yetman, D. L., Cutchin, M. P., & Goodwin, J. S. (in press). Herpesvirus reactivation and socioeconomic position: A community-based study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Peek, M. K., Cutchin, M. P., Salinas, J., Sheffield, K., Eschbach, K., Goodwin, J. (in press). Allostatic load among non-Hispanic Whites, non-Hispanic Blacks, and Hispanics: Effects of race, ethnicity, nativity, and acculturation. American Journal of Public Health.

Heatwole Shank, K. H., & Cutchin, M. P. (in press). Transactional occupations of older women aging in place: Negotiating change and meaning. Journal of Occupational Science.

Peek, M. K., Cutchin, M. P., Perez, N. A., Stowe, R. P., & Goodwin, J. S. (in press). Environmental hazards and stress: Evidence from the Texas City Stress and Health Study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Cutchin, M. P., Aldrich, R. M., Bailliard, A., & Coppola, S. (2008). Action theories for occupational science: The contributions of Dewey and Bourdieu. Journal of Occupational Science, 15, 157-165.

Cutchin, M. P., Martin, K. R., Owen, S. V., & Goodwin, J. S. (2008). Concerns about petrochemical health risk before and after a refinery explosion. Risk Analysis, 28, 589-601.

Cutchin, M. P. (2008). John Dewey’s metaphysical ground-map and its implications for geographical Inquiry. Geoforum, 39, 1555-1565.

Peek, M. K., Cutchin, M. P., Freeman, D. H., Perez, N. A., & Goodwin, J. S. (2008). Perceived health change in the aftermath of a petrochemical accident: An examination of pre-disaster, within-disaster, and post-disaster variables. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 62, 106-112.

Andrews, G. J., Cutchin, M., McCracken, K., Phillips D. R., & Wiles, J. (2007). Geographical gerontology: The constitution of a discipline. Social Science and Medicine, 65, 151-168.

Cutchin, M. P. (2007). From society to self (and back) through place: Habit in transactional context. OTJR: Occupation, Participation, and Health, 27, 50S-59S.

Meyler, D., Stimpson, J., & Cutchin, M. P. (2007). Landscapes of risk: Texas City and the petrochemical Industry. Organization & Environment, 20, 204-212.

 

Cutchin, M. P. (2007). The need for the “new health geography” in epidemiologic studies of environment

            and health. Health & Place, 13, 725-742.
Funded Projects

2008-2010     NIH/NICHD Grant R21HD057980-01, $361,005 total costs 
                    “Disparities in Post-Acute Rehabilitation Care” (Co-I.)

2007-2011    NIH/NIEHS  1R21ES016729-01, $1,170,345 total costs
                     “Dynamically Integrating Macro and Micro Processes” (Collaborating Advisor)

2007-2009    NIH/NIA Grant 1R21AG029502-01A1, $314,640 total costs
                    “Feasibility and Effects of Preventive Home Visits” (P.I.)

2004-2007     NIH/NIA Grant 1 R21 AG023951-01, $1,359,000 total costs
                        “Psychoneuroimmunology, Stress, and Healthy Aging in Hispanics” (Co-I. and
    member of Executive Committee while at UTMB)
 
2003-2008     NIH/NCI Grant 5 P50 CA105631, $2,851,121 total costs
                        “Environmental Risk, Coping, and Mexican American Health” (P.I. while at
                        UTMB); Project funded as R01 component of UTMB Center for Population
                        Health and Health Disparities
1999-2003     NIH/NIA Grant 1 R15 AG17028-01, $101,057 total costs
                        “Aging-in-Place, Migration, and the Impact of New Services” (P.I.)
Projects in Process
  • Perceived risk, stress, and health in Mexican-Americans
  • Assessing the viability and effects of preventive home visits
  • Edited book on transactional theory and occupational science
Courses taught at UNC
  • OCCT 704: Research in Occupational Science and Therapy
  • OCCT 890 and 992: Research Seminar in Older Adults, Place, and Occupation
  • OCSC 890: Seminar on Theories of Action
Professional Memberships/Service
  • Association of American Geographers
  • Gerontological Society of America
  • Southern Gerontological Society
  • Society for the Study of Occupation