University of Ottawa Tier 2 Clinical Research Chair in Pediatric Rehabilitation and Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics
Co-Lead, Technology Enabling Kids (TEK) Research Group
As Clinical Research Chair in Pediatric Rehabilitation at CHEO, Dr Alazem’s primary research interests are developing and expanding access to technology for children with physical disabilities. Her research interests include using novel technology for diagnosis and functional improvement such as robotics, virtual reality, brain to computer interface and AI for gait analysis and communication. Dr Alazem’s other research interests include, early diagnosis and intervention of cerebral palsy, tone management and transition to adult care. She is the co-lead of the Technology Enabling Kids research group alongside her mentor, Dr Anna McCormick. She partners with small to medium sized companies to evaluate their technologies in the context of the pediatric rehabilitation population and acts as a mentor to inventors designing novel solutions for these children.
Dr. Alazem began her journey to pediatric rehabilitation, completing a Bachelor’s Degree in Science majoring in Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa, followed by receiving her Master of Science in Physical Therapy at Queen’s University. She went on to complete her medical degree and pediatric residency at the University of Ottawa. Dr. Alazem also had the privilege of completing a clinical fellowship in Pediatric Rehabilitation at the University of Ottawa.
Research Projects
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Impacting the physical activity confidence of children with medical conditions or disabilities: A randomized controlled trial
27/03/2025
Youth with medical conditions or disabilities (MCD) seldom achieve healthy physical activity recommendations. Barriers include a perceived lack of competence, fear of pain/symptom exacerbation, or physical function changes. A 12-week intervention targeting physical activity confidence was evaluated among youth with MCD. The study found that youth who were confident were more likely to engage in physical activity. The in-person intervention increased participants’ activity confidence. The limited impact of the virtual format suggests that implementing new skills with peers is critically important for enhancing activity confidence. Further research is required to evaluate whether confidence gains could be sustained beyond the study intervention, would longitudinally increase activity participation over time, or would transfer to other activity settings.
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Impacting Children’s Physical and Mental Health through Kinesiology Support in Clinical Care: A Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol
18/08/2023
Our primary hypothesis is that children with medical conditions and disabilities, aged 8 to 18 years, randomized to receive 24 hours of healthy, active lifestyle support will have more confidence that they can participate in physical activity than those who do not receive support. Our secondary hypothesis is that, in comparison to the wait-list control group, those receiving kinesiology support will manifest a healthier lifestyle reflected in closer compliance to the Canadian 24-hour movement guidelines for a healthy lifestyle.
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A randomized, cross-over trial comparing the effect of innovative robotic gait training and functional clinical therapy in children with cerebral palsy; a protocol to test feasibility
17/01/2023
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A randomized, cross-over trial comparing the effect of innovative robotic gait training and functional clinical therapy in children with cerebral palsy: a protocol to test feasibility
17/01/2023
Additional advantages of robotic devices include improved efficiency, with more precise repetition of exercise being possible in an allotted time and efficient patient preparation for therapy. Typically, set up with more traditional gait training approaches can be cumbersome and time-consuming [8]. Although preliminary pediatric and adult data for large tethered robotic training devices such as the Lokomat© appear promising, these devices limit functional use and exploration within a more natural environment. Mobile robotic gait trainers hold greater promise for practice within hospitals, schools and at home as they enable participation and social integration [13] while practicing high quality gait patterns.