Skip to main content

Peter Harmer

Professor Emeritus of Exercise and Health Science
Specialties: Clinical Healthcare, Fall Prevention in Older Adults, Epidemiology

Headshot of Peter Harmer

Contact Information

Salem Campus

Address
Collins 402
900 State Street
Salem  Oregon  97301
U.S.A.
Phone
(503) 370-6470
(503) 370-6773 (Fax)

Education

  • 2006 M.P.H. Oregon Health & Science University
  • 1989 Ph.D. University of Oregon
  • 1989 M.Ed. University of Oregon
  • 1984 M.S. University of Oregon
  • 1981 B.S. University of Oregon
  • 1974 Diploma of Teaching, Riverna College of Advanced Education, Australia

Additional Appointments

  • Chief Medical Officer – United States Fencing Association (2005-2013)
  • Medical Commission – Federation Internationale d’Escrime (FIE) (2000-2017)
  • Senior Associate Research Scientist – Oregon Research Institute (2006-present)

Courses

Professor Harmer is the instructor of record for the following courses: Concepts & Contemporary Issues in Exercise and Health Science (EXHS 135), Epidemiology (EXHS 221), Exercise and Health Science for Special Populations (EXHS 248); Clinical Healthcare: Theory and Application (EXHS 340); Internship (EXHS 394).

Advising

Professor Harmer advises current and transfer students for all disciplines within Exercise Science and Health Care Professions, and serves as the Internship Coordinator for the Department of Exercise and Health Science.

Grants and Awards

  • Co-Principal Investigator: Efficacy of adapted Tai Ji Quan to slow cognitive decline in older adults (R01 AGO59546).
    Project Dates: 6/15/19 - 3/14/24.
    Total Award: $3,930,000.
    Co-Principal investigator: Fuzhong Li, Ph.D., Oregon Research Institute.

  • Principal Co-investigator: Developing an efficacious and cost-effective fall prevention program (ROI AG045094)
    Agency: National Institute on Aging.
    Project Dates: 6/15/14-3/31/19.
    Total award: $3,240,000.
    Principal investigator: Fuzhong Li, Ph.D., Oregon Research Institute.

  • Co-Principal Investigator: Five year grant from the National Institute on Aging to translate and implement an effective fall prevention program into a community-based practice (R01 AGO034956-01A1).
    Project Dates: Sept. 20, 2011 - Aug. 31, 2016.
    Total Award: $3,150,000.
    Co-Principal investigator: Fuzhong Li, Ph.D., Oregon Research Institute.

  • Principal Co-investigator: Four year grant from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control to translate and implement fall prevention research through clinical practice (R18 CE001723-01).
    Project Dates: Sept. 1, 2009 – Aug. 31, 2012.
    Total award: $1,350,000.
    Principal investigator: Fuzhong Li, Ph..D., Oregon Research Institute.

  • Principal Co-investigator: Four-year grant from National Institutes of Health – Behavioral Medicine Interventions and Outcomes to study the influence of Tai Chi on Parkinson’s disease. (R01 NS047130-01A2).
    Project Dates: Jan. 1, 2008 - Dec. 31, 2011.
    Total award: $2,795,909.
    Principal investigator: Fuzhong Li, Ph.D., Oregon Research Institute.

  • Co-investigator: Four-year grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to study environmental predictors of obesity in the elderly (ES014252).
    Project Dates: Sep. 1, 2005 - Aug. 31, 2009.
    Total award: $2,180, 418.
    Principal investigator: Fuzhong Li, Ph.D., Oregon Research Institute.

  • Consultant: Three-year grant from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control to develop and disseminate a Tai Chi-based fall prevention program for community-dwelling older adults. (CE000711).
    Project Dates: Sep. 1, 2005 - Aug. 31, 2008.
    Total award: $1,049,728.
    Principal investigator: Fuzhong Li, Ph.D., Oregon Research Institute.

  • Co-investigator: Two-year grant from the National Institute on Aging for study of cobblestone walking and health outcomes in older adults. (AG20470-01A2).
    Project Dates: Sep. 30, 2003 - Aug. 30, 2005.
    Total award: $200,000.
    Principal investigator: Fuzhong Li, Ph.D., Oregon Research Institute.

  • Consultant: Four-year grant from the National Institute on Aging to study the physical and psychological benefits of Tai Chi training in older adults (AG18394).
    Project Dates: Sep. 30, 2000 - Aug. 31, 2004(9/30/00-8/31/04).
    Total award: $1,507,000.
    Principal investigator: Fuzhong Li, Oregon Research Institute.

  • Atkinson Faculty Development Grant, Willamette University (1997, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2017).

  • Hewlett Foundation Grant, Willamette University (1997, 2001, 2006, 2007).

  • Kinesiotape Inc., Research Grant, Tokyo, Japan (1999).

Honors

  • Medical Research Foundation of Oregon Mentor of the Year (2015)
  • Fellow - American College of Sports Medicine (2007)
  • Fellow – Research Consortium of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (1997)
  • Recipient - Lawrence D. Cress Award for Excellence in Faculty Scholarship, Willamette University (2005)
  • President - American College of Sports Medicine – Northwest (2003-4)
  • Medical supervisor:
    • Pan American Games, fencing, Toronto, Canada (2015)
    • Asian Games, fencing, Doha, Qatar (2006)
    • Thirteen (13) World Fencing Championships (2002-2017)
  • Elected Life Member of the United States Fencing Association for medical services to the USA Fencing team (2000)
  • Special recognition award from the Federation Internationale d’Escrime for medical services to international fencing, Switzerland (1998)

Recent Publications (2012 - present)

Books & Book Chapters:

Harmer, P. (2015). Injury research in pediatric and adolescent sports. In: Caine, D. & Purcell, L.Y. (eds.). Injury in Pediatric and Adolescent Sports - Epidemiology, Treatment and Prevention (Ch. 16.). Springer.

Refereed Articles:

Harmer, P. (2019). Epidemiology of time-loss injuries in international fencing: A prospective, 5-year analysis of Federation Internationale d’Escrime competitions. British Journal of Sports Medicine, ePub ahead of print Jan. 15, 2019. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2018-100002.

Li, F., Harmer, P., Eckstrom, E., Fitzgerald, K., Chou, L-S. & Liu, Y. (2019). Comparisons of exercise interventions for reducing injurious falls in older adults at high risk of falling: Follow-up analysis of a randomized clinical trial. JAMA Network Open, 2(2), e188280. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.8280.

Li, F., Harmer, P., Fitzgerald, K., Eckstrom, E., Ackers, L. & Chou, L-S. (2019). Cost-effectiveness of a therapeutic Tai Ji Quan fall prevention intervention for older adults at high risk of falling. Journal of Gerontology: Series A – Medical Sciences, ePub ahead of print, Jan. 10, 2019. doi: 10.1093/gerona/giz008.

Li, F., Harmer, P., Fitzgerald, K., Eckstrom, E., Ackers, L. & Chou, L-S. (2018). Effectiveness of a therapeutic Tai Ji Quan intervention vs a multimodal exercise intervention to prevent falls among older adults at high risk of falling: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Internal Medicine, 178(10), 1301-1310. doi: 10.1001/jamainternalmed.2018.3915.

Li, F., & Harmer, P. (2017). The oldest-old in China. The Lancet, 390 (10097), 846.

Li, F., Harmer, P. & Fitzgerald, K. (2016). Evidence-based fall prevention intervention into community senior centers. American Journal of Public Health, Published online ahead of print September 15, 2016: e1–e6. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2016.303386Li,

F., Liu, Y. & Harmer, P. (2016). Physical activity, aging, and health in China: Addressing public health needs in the presence of continued economic growth and urbanization. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 5(3), 253-254. 

Li, F., Liu, Y, Zhu, W. & Harmer, P. (2016). Problems and challenges in promoting population-level physical activity and fitness in China. The Lancet, 388(10051), 1278-1279.

Li, F., Eckstrom, E., Harmer, P., Fitzgerald, K., Voit, J. & Cameron, K. (2016). Exercise and fall prevention: Narrowing the Research-to-Practice gap and enhancing integration of clinical and community practice. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 64, 425-431. doi: 10.1111/jgs.13925.

Harmer, P. (2015). Preventing penetrating hand injuries in sabre fencing – An application and critique of the van Mechelen model by the Fédération Internationale d’Escrime (FIE). British Journal of Sports Medicine, 49, 1138-43. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2015-094823.

Li, F., Harmer, P. (2015). Economic evaluation of a Tai Ji Quan intervention to reduce falls in people with Parkinson Disease, Oregon, 2008-2011. Preventing Chronic Disease, 12;140413. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd12.140413.

Harmer, P. (2014). So much research, so little application: Barriers to dissemination and practical implementation of Tai Ji Quan. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 3(1), 16-20. Dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2013.10.005

Li, F. & Harmer, P. (2014). Protocol for disseminating an evidence-based fall prevention program in community senior centers: Evaluation of translatability and public health impact via a single group pre-post test. Implementation Science, 9:63 (May 26); doi: 10.1186/1748-5908-9-63

Li, F., Harmer, P., Liu, Y. & Chou, L-S. (2014). Tai ji quan and global cognitive function in older adults with cognitive impairment: A pilot study. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 58( 3), 434-439 doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2013.12.003

Li, F., Liu, Y., Lu, J., Liang, L. & Harmer, P. (2014). Ambient air pollution in China poses a multifaceted health threat to outdoor physical activity. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, doi: 1O.l136/jech-2014- 203892

Li, F., Harmer, P., Liu, Y., Eckstrom, E., Fitzgerald, K., Stock, R. & Chou, L. (2013). A randomized trial of ­ patient-reported outcomes with Tai Chi exercise in Parkinson's disease. Movement Disorders, 29(4), 539-45. doi: 10.1002/mds.25787

Li, F., Harmer, P., Stock, R., Fitzgerald, K., Stevens, J., Gladieux, M., Chou, L-S., Carp, K. & Voit, J. (2013). Implementing an evidence-based fall prevention program in an outpatient clinical setting. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 61( 12), 2142-9. doi: 10.1111/jgs.12509

Li, F., Harmer, P., Fitzgerald, K., Eckstrom, E., Stock, R., Galver, J., Maddalozzo, G. & Batya, S. (2012). Tai Chi and postural stability in patents with Parkinson’s disease. The New England Journal of Medicine, 366(6), 511-519

Harmer, P. (2012). Injury prevention in exercise and sport. In Encyclopedia of lifestyle medicine and health, Vol. 2., pps. 632-34 (J. Rippe, ed.), Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
 

Abstracts:

Harmer, P. (2017). Identifying politically motivated medical withdrawals from international competition. Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise, 49(5), suppl., (abstract), S756.

Harmer, P. (2015). Characteristics of time-loss injuries in international fencing: 2010-2014. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 47(5), suppl., s723.

Li, F., Fitzgerald, K., & Harmer, P. (2015). Tai Chi and limits of stability in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Neurology, 80, P04.031.

Li, F., Harmer, P. (2013). Tai Chi training to reduce falls in patients with Parkinson's disease - A cost-effectiveness analysis. Movement Disorders, 28 (suppl. 1), 280.

Harmer, P., Li, F. (2013). Self-report benefits of Tai Chi training by patients with Parkinson's disease. Movement Disorders, 28 (suppl. 1), 319.

 

Memberships

  • Society of Health and Physical Education - America
  • American College of Sports Medicine
  • National Athletic Trainers’ Association

Professional Activities

Reviewer (2012-present)
  • ACSM-NW Annual Meeting
  • Advanced Olympic Research Grant Programme (IOC)
  • Advances in Physiotherapy
  • Advances in Physiology Education
  • American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
  • ATSM Conference on Concussion
  • BMC Geriatrics
  • British Journal of Sports Medicine
  • Bulletin of Geography – Socioeconomic series
  • Current Sports Medicine Reports
  • Ido: Journal of Martial Arts Anthropology
  • Injury Prevention
  • International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching
  • Journal of Athletic Training
  • Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition
  • Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport
  • Journal of Sport and Health Science
  • Journal of Sport Science and Medicine
  • Leopold-Franzens-University of Innsbruck, Austria (Erika Cremer Habilitation Post-Doctoral Award for women
  • NATA Research and Education Foundation Research Grant Program
  • National Bank of Austria – Anniversary Fund Grant Program
  • The Physician and Sportsmedicine
  • Research Quarterly for Exercise & Sport
  • Shape-America Annual Meeting
  • Sports Medicine Open
Credentials
  • Certified Athletic Trainer (National Athletic Trainers Association; NATA)
  • NATA Examiner Certification
Willamette University

Exercise and Health Science

Address
Willamette University
900 State Street
Salem Oregon 97301 U.S.A.
Phone
503-370-6894 voice
503-370-6773 fax