Past Research Projects
The Roybal Institute conducts interdisciplinary research with the goal of developing and improving evidence-based programs that enhance the quality and effectiveness of health and human services delivery to older adults—with a unique focus on the needs of the most vulnerable elders from communities of color. Past research initiatives are listed below.
Community-Based Management of the Chronically Mentally Ill
Research Period: 9/5/2008 - 6/30/2010
Co-Investigator: William A. Vega, Roybal Institute
Funding Source: National Institute of Mental Health
The primary objective of the center grant was to create a sustainable community-based participatory research program for African Americans with depression residing in South Los Angeles, with the ultimate objective of improving the quality of their lives and reducing relapse through improved community based integration of services with natural networks and other community support systems.
Community Action to Address Health Disparities
Research Period: 7/1/2007 - 6/30/2010
Co-Investigator: William A. Vega, Roybal Institute
Funding Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The primary objective of the project was to develop and implement nutrition and exercise interventions into minority communities in Southern California.
Ethnicity and the Diagnosis of Affective Illness
Research Period: 7/15/2005 - 6/30/2010
Principal Investigator: William A. Vega, Roybal Institute
Funding Source: National Institute of Mental Health
In an effort to better understand diagnostic disparities (i.e., the overdiagnosis of psychosis in African Americans), the study examined how patient characteristics (i.e., ethnicity) influence the diagnostic process in patients with serious mental illness. The primary objective was to test the hypothesis that clinicians over-emphasize psychotic symptoms at the expense of affective symptoms in African Americans.
Stigma of Depression among Hispanic Primary Care Patients
Research Period: 2007 - 2010
Principal Investigator: William A. Vega, Roybal Institute
Funding Source: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The major focus of the project was to develop a stigma measure for depressed Latinos and test the effects of stigma on the course of depression treatment, medication adherence, and treatment outcome, in a longitudinal study of primary care patients.
Toward a Better Understanding of Elder Mistreatment in Community Settings
Research Period: 9/1/2007 - 8/31/2009
Principal Investigator: Kathleen H. Wilber
Funding Source: National Institute on Aging (NIA)
The purpose of the study was to inform the NIA about the issues involved with conducting a national incidence or prevalence study of elder mistreatment. The study focused on community-residing elders to examine approaches to detecting and measuring mistreatment across five domains: physical assault, psychological aggression, sexual coercion, caregiver neglect and financial exploitation. The ultimate goal was to inform the field on reliable approaches to identifying elder mistreatment.
Medline Plus En Español: Reaching and Empowering the Latino Community
Research Period: 7/1/2006 - 6/30/2007
Project Investigators: Valentine M. Villa (Principle Investigator); Jorge J. Lambrinos (Co-Principle Investigator), Roybal Institute
Funding Source: National Library of Medicine (NLM)
The primary goal of the project was to evaluate the appropriateness and usefulness of the content of MedlinePlus (En Español) among the Latino population in the greater East Los Angeles Area. A secondary goal was to assess the awareness and extent to which the MedlinePlus (En Español) website was utilized by physicians serving populations that were primarily Latino. To achieve those goals, a series of focus groups was convened, which included various groups within the Latino population as well as physicians and other healthcare providers.
Family Caregiver Training Program
Principal Investigator: Connie Corley, Roybal Institute
Funding Source: Los Angeles City Department of Aging
The program, which was developed by the Roybal Institute, offered free one-hour sessions on a range of topics for caregivers in the city of Los Angeles. Among the topics discussed were housing options, medication management, and fall and injury prevention. These sessions were made available to working caregivers on-site during their lunch hour or other designated in-services at employer sites. The target audiences for the program were individuals who were caring for someone over the age of 60 and individuals over the age of 60 who were caring for someone age 18 or under.
Information from topic sessions was incorporated into caregiving trainings through the Department of Water and Power (DWP), the Hollywood and Theresea Lindsay Senior Center, the City of Los Angeles Department of Human Resources, Mexican American Opportunity Foundation (MAOF) and a variety of other settings for more than 3,000 caregivers.
Family Caregiver Training Program: Caregiver Program Translation
Funding Source: Beverly Hospital
The Roybal Institute collaborated with Beverly Hospital to develop and implement a caregiver intervention program. The goal was to lessen the negative health and mental health impacts of caregiving by creating multilingual training modules and other education materials to assist caregivers and those who they cared for.
Family Caregiver Training Program: Caregiver Program Translation
Funding Source: Los Angeles Alzheimer's Research Center of California
The Roybal Institute collaborated with the Keck School of Medicine of USC's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center of California to translate findings from its clinical research trials into practice in the community. This was accomplished through a local community-based consortium of organizations providing services to Alzheimer's patients.
Unintentional Injury Prevention Among Older Adults
Principal Investigator: Jorge J. Lambrinos, Roybal Institute
Funding Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine (ATPM)
The goal of the project was to develop and distribute educational materials to help reduce the incidence of falls among older adults by providing a training manual and educational material for service providers in Los Angeles County. A total of 13 informational sessions were also conducted for health care providers, the aging service network, agencies, organizations, institutions, caregivers and their families, volunteers and other interested individuals at locations across the county.
Staff members on the project worked with AltaMed to integrate the fall and injury prevention community service model into the agency's existing services, which helped to reduce reported fall rates from 12% to 3% over a four- to six-month period. The training manual and related education materials were also adopted by three health service providers in aging service delivery that were contracted and funded by the Los Angeles City Department of Aging.
Live Well, Live Long: Steps to Better Health
Project Investigators: Jorge J. Lambrinos (Co-Principal Investigator/ Project Director), Roybal Institute; Patrick C. Cullinane (Principle Investigator), American Society on Aging (ASA)
Funding Source: CDC
The ASA and the Roybal Institute entered into a collaborative agreement with the CDC to develop a model Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (HPDP) national campaign. The ultimate goal of the project was to provide guidance and tools for the staff of organizations that provided services to older adults. The tools were designed to facilitate outreach efforts, the dissemination of information, the delivery of service and the training of staff. The tools also were designed to provide a better understanding of the changing health and social service needs of an aging and more diverse population. Special emphasis was given to developing strategies targeting racial and ethnic communities and rural areas.
Injuries in the Elderly
Principal Investigators:: Jorge J. Lambrinos, Roybal Institute; Jess F. Kraus, Southern California Injury Prevention Research Center
Funding Source: CDC
The project was a collaborative effort between the Southern California Injury Prevention Research Center at UCLA and the Roybal Institute. The goal of the intervention was to reduce the rate of falls and fall injuries among older adults in East Los Angeles. In order to achieve this objective, home-safety assessments were conducted and an education package was created to promote fall prevention efforts in the community.
Replication and Dissemination of Effective Breast and Cervical Cancer Health Education Interventions
Project Directors: Jorge J. Lambrinos, Roybal Institute; Freda Mitchem, National Association for Community Health Centers (NACHAC)
Funding Source: CDC/NACHC
The goal of the project was to enhance the capacity of a national network of community, migrant and homeless health centers to increase the number of early detection screenings for breast and cervical cancer for Latinas age 50 and over. Among the objectives was to increase the knowledge of breast and cervical cancer screenings and the utilization rates of mammograms and Pap tests among Latinas. The staffs of various health centers were trained on how to reach out to community organizations and leaders who were also concerned about the health of Latinas.
One of the key components of the initiative was the establishment of a community consortium composed of community leaders, public and private health-care providers, private industry, academic researchers and consumers that met to address the problem of low screening rates among Latino women over the age of 50 in the community.
Adult Immunization Program
Principal Investigator: Jorge J. Lambrinos, Roybal Institute
Funding Source: The California Endowment
The Roybal Institute was approached by The California Endowment to conduct a comparative study to evaluate the current status of the immunization level of Latinos in the greater East Los Angeles area. The study was designed to compare newly collected data with the findings from an earlier dataset to determine whether there were changes in immunization levels over time and to determine potential barriers to immunization services. Another important aspect of the project was to develop and implement intervention strategies in the East Los Angeles area as well as an immunization coordination plan for Los Angeles County.
Breast Cancer Media & Training Campaign for Hispanic Women
Project Director: Jorge J. Lambrinos, Roybal Institute
Funding Sources: CDC/AARP
The purpose of the project was to educate Latino women on the importance of breast cancer screenings through a national media campaign that targeted more than 83 Spanish-language television stations across the United States.
Adult Immunization Project
Project Director: Jorge J. Lambrinos, Roybal Institute
Funding Source: California Department of Health Services
The goals of Roybal Immunization Consortium for Older Adults (RICO) were to increase older-adult vaccine coverage rates in the Latino community and to be a health advocacy organization for older adults. A major outcome of the RICO was the development of a policy paper for a coordinated adult immunization service delivery plan for Los Angeles County.
Adult Immunization Project: Immunization Program Translation
Funding Source: Unihealth Foundation
The primary goal of the project was to increase the knowledge base of health care providers in order to improve vaccination rates among older adults, particularly those from ethnic communities.
Physical Activity Promotional Campaign for Elderly Hispanic Women
Project Director: Jorge J. Lambrinos, Roybal Institute
Funding Source: CDC/National Coalition of Hispanic Health and Human Services Organizations (COSSMHO)
The Roybal Institute's bilingual (i.e., Spanish and English) physical activity guide for older adults was used by individuals, agencies and organizations as part of an intervention to improve physical condition and reduce injuries. The guide was distributed locally and nationally to organizations serving older individuals.