The multidisciplinary Roybal Center for Elder Mistreatment Intervention Research
- Research team: Principal Investigators Carolyn Pickering, PhD, RN; Brad Cannell, PhD, MPH, (McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston); and Ronald Acierno, PhD (McGovern Medical School). Co-investigators Aanand Naik, MD, (UTHealth Houston School of Public Health); Jason Burnett, PhD, (McGovern Medical School); and Melba Hernandez-Tejada, PhD, DHA (McGovern Medical School)
- Funding sponsor: Edward R. Roybal Centers for Translational Research in the Behavioral and Social Sciences of Aging program, funded by the National Institute on Aging.
- Overview: The new Roybal center will establish infrastructure and mentorship to support pilot studies of behavioral and social interventions to explore ways to reduce exposure to elder mistreatment and its mental and physical impacts on community-dwelling older adults and their caregivers. Goals include helping researchers progress through the stages of intervention development established by the NIH, increasing the number of researchers trained in elder mistreatment interventions, and evaluating mechanisms and outcomes of those interventions.
- Budget: $5.265 million
- Project period: Aug. 15, 2024-May 31, 2029
Daily Decisions of Family Caregivers
- Research team: Pickering Caregiver Lab
- Funding sponsor: National Institute on Aging (NIA)
- Overview: The purpose of this research study is to better understand how family caregivers make decisions in day-to-day life about how to help their loved one with dementia. We are also interested in learning more about how family caregivers prioritize decisions in light of other competing demands in daily life.
- Budget: $641,415
- Project period: Aug. 16, 2023, through March 31, 2025.
Discovering Solutions for Dementia Symptoms
- Research team: Pickering Caregiver Lab
- Funding sponsor: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
- Overview: The purpose of this research is to better understand when and why people living with dementia have behavioral symptoms such as repeating the same question over and over.
- Budget: $486,805
- Project period: Aug. 1, 2023, to July 31, 2025.
Daily Medication Decisions by Dementia Family Caregivers
- Research team: Pickering Caregiver Lab
- Funding sponsor: National Institute on Aging (NIA)
- Overview: The purpose of this research is to better understand the strategies caregivers use to address their loved one’s complex behavioral symptoms. This study will allow us to better support family caregivers and create better care plans to manage symptoms some persons living with dementia experience.
- Budget: $619,609
- Project period: Aug. 16, 2023, to Feb. 28, 2026
