| This collaborative study with Cornell Medical College and the University of Florida tests the effectiveness of “Do More, Feel Better” (DMFB), a lay health delivered behavioral intervention, in comparison to professionally-delivered Behavioral Activation. The specific aims are to test the effectiveness of “Do More, Feel Better” for depressed older adults on increasing overall activity level and reducing depression symptoms. |
Patient Population: Older Adults
Remote assessment of cognitive aging and mental health in older African Americans during COVID-19
Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) affect more than 10% of adults who are age 65 and older, but the toll of ADRD is most devastating among older African Americans. COVID-19 widened these disparities; in addition to being more susceptible to COVID-19 infection and fatalities, older African Americans are more likely to experience digital and technical inequities. This puts them at risk for the development/worsening of depression, anxiety, cognitive impairment and sleep disturbances.
This project will evaluate several traditional and mobile health tools for remotely monitoring the effects of social isolation on cognition and mental health in older African Americans with baseline cognitive complaints. By testing three different strategies, we will identify the most effective, feasible and subject-preferred approach to collecting cognitive and mental health data which will help address brain health disparities.
Disseminating a user-friendly guide: Advancing the science of intervention adaptation and improving access to evidence-based psychological treatment
Adaptation of evidence-based practices and programs (EBPs) is a necessary component of the implementation process. EBPs must be adapted to function with the constraints of real-world practice settings, providers’ expertise, and patients’ needs. The science of intervention adaptation is hungry for well-defined methods of EBP adaptation to guide decision making. A how-to guide for EBP adaptation titled MODIFI: Making Optimal Decisions for Intervention Flexibility during Implementation, is under development with NIMH funding (F32 MH116623). MODIFI will be disseminated via multiple strategies locally, nationally, and internationally. Dissemination of MODIFI will improve the practice of intervention adaptation by providing practitioners with a how-to guide that is (a) evidence-based, (b) usable, and (c) supported by the expert consensus of implementation practitioners and researchers.
Volunteer-delivery of behavioral activation for senior center clients
This developmental project examines the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary impact of Volunteer-delivered Behavioral Activation (BA), in comparison to MSW-delivered BA, among depressed senior center clients.
Care Partners: bridging families, clinics, and communities to advance late-life depression care
Through Archstone Foundation’s Depression in Late-Life Initiative, the Care Partners project seeks to improve depression care for older adults by building innovative and effective community partnerships. Specifically, the Care Partners project has the following goals: 1) develop late-life depression innovations among primary care, community-based organizations (CBOs) and family, 2) build a learning community of clinics, CBOs, and researchers in California who will work together on the Care Partners Late-Life Depression Initiative to improve care for depressed older adults, 3) conduct an evaluation of the developing models, and 4) develop and conduct a Learning Collaborative in Year 5 for California clinics and CBOs interested in improving depression care for older adults. Throughout the project, project teams at the University of Washington (UW) and UC Davis (UCD) provide technical assistance and evaluation to support site development and sustainment. Together, the community-engaged partnerships have tremendous potential to improve access to care, patient engagement, patient care experience and quality of care. In addition, CBO and clinic partners are well primed to improve care through addressing the social determinants of health.
Discovering the capacity of primary care front-line staff to deliver a low-intensity technology-enhanced intervention to treat geriatric depression
This study will explore the feasibility of implementation of a technology-enhanced Evidence-Based Psychosocial Behavioral Intervention entitled Mobile Motivational Physical Activity Targeted Intervention (MobMPATI) by frontline primary care staff (e.g., nurses, medical assistants) to expand workforce capacity to deliver acceptable, sustainable, and effective treatment for depression in older adults.
