Research to explain and offer ways to support the social relationships that affect mental health, physical health, health behaviors and mortality risk.
Research Projects
Testing Savvy Caregiver in a Racially and Ethnically Diverse Sample in Southern California
The project goal is to compare the relative efficacy-effectiveness of two dementia caregiver interventions, Savvy Caregiver Express™ and Savvy Caregiver program on primary (affective status, and reactivity to behaviors), and secondary outcomes (competence, meaning, management, other coping resources, social support, etc.) with a diverse racial and ethnic sample of caregivers to persons with dementia (PWD).
You can learn more about this project at roybal.usc.edu/socalcaregiver.
Research Team
Research Period: 04/01/2020 - 06/30/2022
Funding Source: State of California Department of Public Health Alzheimer's Disease Program
Navigating Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) Care and Services in Linguistic Isolation
The project aims to explore the direct and interactive roles of social connectedness and neighborhood characteristics (1) in the relation between limited english proficiency and health and (2) in the relation between limited english proficiency and healthcare.
Research Team
Research Period: 06/15/2019 - 04/30/2021
Funding Source: National Institute on Aging
A Feasibility Study of an Intergenerational mHealth Program for Affordable Housing Communities
To fill these gaps in knowledge and better address the needs of homeless veterans, we propose a three-arm, multi-level systematic study to examine the effectiveness of outreach and housing services that target Los Angeles’ homeless veteran populations. We build on both RAND and USC’s strengths of implementing mixed method studies that gather in-depth information from Veterans and other key stakeholders, including the VA, community based organizations (e.g., Volunteers of America), and advocacy groups to provide a comprehensive and balanced approach to help solve one of the most complex issues facing Los Angeles today
Research Team
Research Period: 2019 - 2020
Funding Source: USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck Schol of Social Work
Asian American Resource Database (AARD) in the Los Angeles County: A Pilot Study of Chinese and Korean Communities
The project will develop an AARD that includes health and social services for the Chinese and Korean communities in Los Angeles County. Outcomes from the project will offer a database for practical use by community members, as well as for networks of researchers and practitioners through which to better reach out to and serve these communities.
Research Team
Research Period: 12/1/2018 - 6/30/2019
Funding Source: USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work: Department of Adult Mental Health and Wellness
Translating Caregiver Self-Management Research for Chinese Immigrant Community Use through Participatory Co-Design App Development
The proposed pilot study will employ a user participatory approach to design, prototype, and pilot-test a CSMP mobile app to meet the needs of Chinese immigrant caregivers. The app is expected to include five core functions to engage caregivers in self -care: building CSMP-based skills, tracking self-management behaviors, summarizing health information, coaching for problem solving, and enabling communication for support and sharing.
Research Team
Research Period: 7/1/2018 – 6/30/2019
Funding Source: Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute (SC CTSI); Grant ID: 12-5176-3304
Enduring Connections of Family: Implications of Drug Use on Family Systems
Intergenerational transmission of disadvantage is well known, but rarely considered in studies of people who inject drugs (PWID). Further, while downward transmission of disadvantage (from parents to children) has been examined extensively, the impact of disadvantage within sibling groups or upward (to aging parents) has been inadequately addressed. Aging parents may be particularly vulnerable to drug using children who may have remained in closer contact to parents as compared to other siblings. Further, their proximity may not be entirely negative; caregiving of domiciled elders may be more easily accomplished for aging PWID who have failed to establish other legal means of support.
Latino families and communities have long been regarded as especially close, with families retaining close connections to members despite mental health issues, repeated incarceration, and drug abuse. In the following, we propose to explore family relations and connections among middle aged (40 to 60 years old) Hispanic PWID in Los Angeles. The goal will be to describe how these long-term drug users connect with families and to consider positive and negative consequences of these enduring connections.
Research Team
Research Period: 2016 - 12/2018
Funding Source: USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging
Asian Caregiver Training (ACT)
This project aims to develop a train-the-trainer program to improve caregivers’ competence and improve their well-being. The project will pilot online training materials in four languages (English, Mandarin, Cantonese and Tagalog) and develop a caregiver training manual using a culturally and linguistically sensitive approach.
Research Team
Helping Carers to Care (HC2C)
Developed with Peking University’s Institute of Mental Health, the initiative facilitates the development, implementation and evaluation of training models in Beijing for caregivers of individuals with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Research Team
Research Period: Ongoing
Limited English Proficiency, Health and Healthcare among Older Immigrants
Limited English proficiency (LEP) is a unique vulnerability of older immigrants that poses a significant risk to health and healthcare. Given that social and environmental contexts play a critical role in the lives of persons with LEP, this project investigates how social connectedness and neighborhood/community characteristics (e.g., ethnic density, health service environments in the neighborhood) influence the link between LEP and health/healthcare. The interactive roles of social connectedness and neighborhood characteristics will be explored by using an innovative and synergistic mix of Social Network Analysis (SNA) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Research Team
Research Period: 5/15/2015-4/30/2020
Funding Source: National Institute on Aging
Understanding Disparities in Palliative and Hospice Care among Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations: A Systematic Review
The purpose of this proposed study is to conduct a systematic review that provides a comprehensive overview of the best available evidence on the determinants of disparities in palliative and hospice care among racial and ethnic minority populations. Four aims of the proposed systematic review are: 1) to assess racial and ethnic disparities in palliative and hospice care, 2) to identify contributing factors associated with racial and ethnic disparities in palliative and hospice care, 3) to synthesize similarities and differences in the factors across racial and ethnic groups, and 4) to explore whether cultural factors have been appropriately considered and measured in palliative and hospice care research. Findings of the study will inform areas for intervention and provide a foundation for research, intervention planning, and policy development to promote palliative and hospice care as a vital part of the continuum of healthcare for racial and ethnic minority populations.
Research Team
Research Period: 12/1/2018 - 6/30/2019
Funding Source: USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work: Department of Adult Mental Health and Wellness
Establishing Rates of Caregiving to Adults with Physical and Cognitive Disabilities in Home- and Community-Based Services
The primary aim of the pilot is to establish rates of caregiving to adults with physical and cognitive disabilities who rely on home- and community-based services (HCBS) program in the greater Los Angeles area. In collaboration with the largest multi-racial/ethnic HCBS in the greater Los Angeles area, St. Barnabas Senior Services (SBSS), we intend to characterize the proportion of 200 consumers that reports either receiving assistance from a family caregiver, or serving as a caregiver.
Research Team
Research Period: 2/15/2018-6/30/2018
Funding Source: USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work: Department of Adult Mental Health and Wellness
Religious Transitions, Transmissions, and Trajectories among Baby-Boomers and Their Families
This three-year multi-method research project is devoted to better understanding how religious beliefs, identities, and participation develop over the course of later life. Researchers will collect quantitative and qualitative data from an established longitudinal sample to examine previously unaddressed questions about how religiosity changes for aging Baby-Boomers, the implications of religious change for health and well-being, and whether the capacity to transmit religious orientations to children has become compromised by changing family structures.
Research Team
Research Period: 1/1/2015–1/31/2018
Funding Source: The John Templeton Foundation
Social Relationships and Depressive Symptom Types among Older African Americans
The pilot project will examine depressive symptom typologies/subtypes (i.e., distinct patterns or clusters of depressive symptoms) among older African Americans. A primary aim of this research is to use latent class analysis (LCA) to identify typologies of depressive symptoms as an innovative means of capturing the heterogeneity of depressive symptoms in a national probability sample of older African Americans. A second aim of this project is to identify functional and structural features of church-based (congregational) and extended family relationships that act as risk and protective factors for being identified with particular depressive symptom types. This research project focuses on providing a better understanding of both mental disease (depressive symptom profiles), as well as the social contexts and resources that individuals inhabit.
Research Team
Research Period: 7/2016 - 6/2017
Funding Source: USC Minority Aging Health Economics Research Center (USC RCMAR)
Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) Workshop Series
The goal of the workshop series is to identify research priorities for the Aging Cluster through a series of meetings bringing together researchers in the field of aging. The meetings will host experts in the field of Alzheimer’s disease research to present the most-up-to-date research, policies, and funding opportunities. Faculty from the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work and across campus will be invited.
Research Team
Research Period: 2017
Funding Source: USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work Research Council
Understanding Challenges of Coordinating the Care of Urban, Low-Income, Latinos with Alzheimer’s Disease: A Qualitative Study of Informal and Formal Caregivers
In the United States, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) disproportionately impacts Latinos. Informal caregivers must work collaboratively with formal caregivers in the health care and long-term services and supports (LTSS) systems to meet the needs of the AD care recipient and their family. A major challenge in such AD care coordination is inefficient communication and information sharing among the informal and formal caregivers, especially as it relates to identification of affordable and culturally appropriate community resources. We propose a qualitative approach involving in-depth, one-on-one interviews with AD patient’s family caregivers, their health care providers, and when applicable, their community-based LTSS providers. The results are anticipated to reveal the content of triad interactions needed to facilitate streamlined AD care coordination, including the necessary and sufficient information needed to carry out care activities, and opportunities for improving family caregiver utilization of community resources.
Research Team
Research Period: 7/1/2017–6/30/2018
Funding Source: USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work Research Council
Programa Esperanza (Project Hope)
The primary aim of the study is to test the comparative effectiveness of Programa Esperanza (Project Hope) and enhanced usual care (EUC). Programa Esperanza is a short-term, culturally modified psychosocial intervention for Spanish-speaking Latino patients 55 years of age or older with depression and multiple medical conditions. Our long-term goal is to widely disseminate the results and actionable steps needed to increase the adoption and sustainability of evidence-based behavioral health practices for low-income, Limited-English-speaking geriatric populations.
Research Team
Research Period: 1/1/2015–06/30/2019
Funding Source: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)
Toward Integrated Care of Oral Health and Diabetes: A Pilot with Older Korean Adults
Diabetes poses a critical risk to oral health. However, many individuals with diabetes and their caregivers are unaware of diabetes-related susceptibility to oral complications, and oral health is often unaddressed in the diabetes care regimen. The proposed study aims to explore oral health and dental care-related experiences and needs via qualitative interviews with various stakeholders: 10 older Korean Americans with diabetes, 10 caregivers of older Korean Americans with diabetes, and 10 health care providers (5 from primary care and 5 from dentistry) who serve in the Korean American community in the Los Angeles area. Tentative topics for qualitative assessment include general issues in oral health and diabetes care, knowledge of diabetes and oral health, challenges in seeking/assisting/providing dental care, and the role of family and community in healthcare utilization. The proposed pilot study will plant a seed for an R21 or R01 grant for the NIDCR that prioritizes “understanding the determinants of inequalities in oral health status and quality” and “integrating oral health in comprehensive health care.”
Research Team
Research Period: 12/1/2018 – 6/30/2019
Funding Source: USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work: Department of Adult Mental Health and Wellness
Los Angeles Stroke Prevention/Intervention Research Program in Health Disparities
This program is a multi-partner research center that will conduct two randomized, controlled, community-based trials of stroke-prevention interventions. The research for this subaward project will design a mobile health technology application and an evaluation to measure perceptions of usefulness, ease of use, and willingness to adopt the mobile health technology from multiple stakeholders’ perspectives. This research will support one of the center’s aims, which is to create and test sustainable interventions to redress racial/ethnic disparities in the occurrence of stroke.
Research Team
Research Period: 9/30/2012 – 8/31/2018
Funding Source: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Caregiver Self-Management Program (CSMP)
The CSMP aims to equip Chinese caregivers with self-management knowledge and skills, increase self-efficacy for caregiving and self-care, enhance physical and mental well-being, and decrease caregiving burden. The program will address language and culture gaps in current caregiver self-management interventions in the U.S.
Research Team
Research Period: 9/1/2017 – 6/30/2018
Funding Source: USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work Research Council
Jewish Family Services' Person-Centered, Trauma-Informed Project Evaluation
The subaward research team will evaluate the implementation of a grant to extend services for child Holocaust survivors and their families, which was awarded to Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles by the Jewish Federation of North America.
Research Team
Research Period: 5/1/2016–2/28/2018
Funding Source: Jewish Family Services
2017 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count
In coordination with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, the research team will conduct the 2017 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, a demographic survey of homeless adults, youth, and families, as required by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Research Team
Research Period: 9/1/2016–9/1/2017
Funding Source: Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority
Traditional Healing Practices of Ethnic Elders: Exploratory field studies among ten Ethnic Enclaves of Los Angeles
Six MSW students assisted Dr. Nair in compiling a database of elderly traditional healers among ten ethnic enclaves of Los Angeles. The next phase of the field study will involve collecting information about different types of healing methods that elders practice.
Research Team
Research Period: Summer 2016
Funding Source: USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work Behavior: Health and Society Research Cluster
A Helping Hand to Activate Patient-Centered Depression Care among Low-Income Patients (AHH)
The study aims to improve patient self-care management and patient-provider care management relationships among underserved low-income patients, who must simultaneously cope with major depression and chronic co-morbid physical illness. Some participants will be randomly selected to receive typical clinical services, while others will participate in a program in which community members, who are trained to provide basic health education, offer training and advice. Findings will determine whether community health worker promotora care management training improves patient-centered outcomes, such as self-care need and management, treatment adherence, symptom improvement, and care satisfaction over the usual team care.
Research Team
Research Period: 10/2013 – 12/2017
Funding Source: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)
A Program for Families Caring for a Loved One with Dementia (SAVVY Caregiver Program)
This is a comparative cluster-randomized pilot to compare the relative feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of implementing the original and modified version of the Savvy Caregiver Program (SCP) in community-based settings. SCP is a structured, group-administered intervention for adult family caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease or associated dementias.
Research Team
Research Period: 12/2015 – 6/2016
Funding Source: USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work Research Council
Enhanced Geriatric Depression Treatment in Adult Day Health Care
The major goal of the project was to explore the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of adding individually administered Problem Solving Therapy (PST) to enhanced usual care as an approach for treating depression in adult day health care (ADHC) for predominantly low-income Latinos with depression and significant comorbid medical illnesses.
Research Team
Research Period: 3/2009 - 12/2011
Funding Source: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Testing of a Frailty Diagnostic Measure for Low-Income, Medically Ill Older Adults with Depression
Little is known about the frailty syndrome and its relationship to clinical depression in older minorities. The study aimed to develop and test a frailty measure for its predictive ability in determining clinical depression and severity.
Research Team
Research Period: 11/2010 - 3/2011
Funding Source: Los Angeles Basin Clinical and Translational Science Institute; Grant ID: 1UL1RR031986
Family Caregiver Training Program
The program, which was developed by the USC 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.
Research Team
Research Period: Completed
Funding Source: Los Angeles City Department of Aging
Family Caregiver Training Program: Caregiver Program Translation
The USC 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.
Research Period: Completed
Funding Source: Beverly Hospital
Family Caregiver Training Program: Caregiver Program Translation
The USC 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.
Research Period: Completed
Funding Source: Los Angeles Alzheimer's Research Center of California