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Nine
faculty awarded grants for research on mental health, aging
By
Marla Scott
Dateline
Alabama, April 09 2003
The university Center for Mental Health and Aging will provide grant
money for research concentrating in the areas of elderly care-giving,
mental health in rural communities, quality care in nursing homes and
end-of-life issues.
Lucinda
Roff and Lou Burgio, co-directors of the University of Alabama's Center
for Mental Health and Aging, announced the awarding of research grants to
nine UA faculty members. These grants will provide funding for faculty
members conducting research that will benefit elderly patients and is
designed to promote quality care among the aging population.
Established in 2002, the CMHA was developed to provide care for mental
health and aging patients. The grants will enable researchers to expand
new knowledge of issues dealing with the elderly, test new methods and
provide a resource of information to the elderly population. The CMHA
concentrates on four areas: elder care-giving, mental health of rural
elders, quality care of nursing homes and palliative care and end-of-life
issues.
Beth Macauley, UA associate professor of communicative disorders, received
$12 thousand to support her research, which addresses the ability of
elderly people with dementia to care for them selves on a daily basis.
Macauley, whose background is in neurogenic communication disorders and
neuropsychology, said many people with dementia "lose" the
ability to choose the right tool to perform a task.
"This study will examine the relationship between the difficulties in
completing these tasks and the persons quality of life," Macauley
said. "We are also looking at the influence of language problems and
praxis [skilled movement] problems."
The university is a participant of the national Resources for Enhancing
Alzheimer's Caregiver Health, an intervention site. REACH is a mutual
agreement project designed to eliminate caregiver stress and burden.
Other focal points include researching long-distance care-giving, personal
and financial costs of providing informal home care and exploring the
relationship between social support and nursing home placements.
Martha Crowther, assistant professor of psychology, was awarded $12
thousand to fund her research, which addresses issues dealing with
custodial grandparents raising their grandchildren. Crowther said her
research would benefit the elderly by focusing on a growing care-giving
population.
"I was very excited to hear that I would receive the grant,"
Crowther said. "I will be able to collect pilot data to subsequently
a larger grant to the National Institutes of Health. I can also explore in
more detail this exciting area of research."
Like the REACH project, the CMHA's goal is to improve the quality of life
for elders through the Project for the Enhancement of Aged Rural Living.
PEARL focuses on care-giving for older rural health care recipients and is
particularly aimed at developing resources that will provide support to
multi-cultural elders.
These grants are made possible by an award from the Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration, a U.S. Department of Health and
Human Service public agency. The funds support in part CMHA's competitive
grant program, graduate fellowships and scientific seminars.
Those receiving grants are:
Rebecca S. Allen, assistant professor of psychology, "Palliative and Existentially
Augmented Care at the End-of-Life (PEACE): Examining the Role of Legacy
Activities on Caregiver and Care Recipient Distress."
Martha Crowther, assistant professor of psychology, "Custodial
Grandparent: Exploring Religion and Spirituality."
Jullet Davis, assistant professor of management and marketing, ($5
thousand), "Determining Strategic Differences Among Alabama Nursing
Homes."
Beth Macauley, assistant professor of communicative disorders, ($12
thousand), "The Impact of Action Errors on Quality of Life in Persons
with Dementia."
Gordon MacNeil, associate professor of social work, and Sherry M.
Cummings, University of Tennessee School of Social Work, ($10 thousand),
"Caregivers of Older
Clients with Severe Mental Illness: Burdens, Rewards and Service
Needs."
Forest Scogin, professor of psychology, ($12 thousand), "Behavioral
Activation as a Treatment for Geriatric Depression."
John Wheat, professor of community and rural medicine; Bronwen
Lichtenstein, research scientist in the Institute for Rural Health
Research; and Andrea Ohldin, from Harper Geriatric Center, College of
Community Health Sciences, ($12 thousand), "A Trial of Multi-Sensory
Stimulation on the Management of Verbally Disruptive Behaviors in
Institutionalized Elders Suffering from Dementia."
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