Cornell Roybal Center for Translational Research

描述（由申请人提供）：康奈尔大学皇家中心的目标是在社会融合和孤立领域应用引人注目的新理论和实证发现，其统一目标是改善老年人的健康和生活质量。各种研究机构清楚地表明，社会网络和支持的缺失与老年人的大量死亡率、发病率和医疗保健费用增加有关。此外，由于生活的重大转变，社会孤立和社会支助不足的问题在老年人中更为普遍。虽然这些转变往往是不可避免的，但社会孤立的后果可能是可以干预的。在这次更新中，现有的康奈尔皇家中心的优势和专业知识将与康奈尔系统内另外两个著名的老龄化研究中心合并：威尔康奈尔医学院的老龄化研究和临床护理中心；以及康奈尔大学精神科老年精神病学研究所。康奈尔皇家中心的扩建将被命名为老龄化与社会融合综合转化研究中心（CITRAS）。这一独特的伙伴关系汇集了对老龄化和社会融合的转化研究至关重要的三个领域：心理健康、临床研究和社会科学。该提案的一个特别重要的特点是在研究过程的每个阶段都有社区利益攸关方的参与，从而认识到孤立的老年人和为他们服务的选区的复杂、多方面的需求。这些伙伴关系将把中心的干预措施带到为大多数社会孤立的老年人提供服务的地方，创建一个“实验室”，我们将在其中研究有效治疗的提供。更新皇家中心的具体目标包括：1)促进和测试基于研究的干预措施，涉及社会融合对身心健康的影响；2. 将老龄领域的研究人员与从业人员聚集在一起，设计和实施干预措施和应用研究；3. 通过该中心的管理核心创建有效的基础设施，以协调个别调查人员的活动并最大限度地提高实际应用的有效性；4. 制定、指导和评价关于社会融合和健康成果主题的试点项目；5. 通过指导和协助调查人员，从联邦和其他来源获得资助的研究项目；6. 特别关注少数民族社区的社会孤立问题，这将通过与纽约长老会医院少数民族老龄化研究资源中心的正式联系得到加强。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of the Roybal Center at Cornell University is to apply compelling new theoretical and empirical findings in the area of social integration and isolation, with the unified goal of improving health and quality of life for older adults. Diverse bodies of research clearly indicate that deficits in social networks and support are associated with substantial mortality, morbidity, and increased health care costs in older persons. Further, the problems of social isolation and inadequate social support are more prevalent among older people by virtue of major life transitions. Although these transitions are often inevitable, the consequences of social isolation are potentially amenable to intervention. In this renewal, the strengths and expertise of existing Cornell Roybal Center will be merged with two other prominent centers on aging within the Cornell system: the Center for Aging Research and Clinical Care at the Weill Cornell Medical College; and the Institute for Geriatric Psychiatry at Cornell's Psychiatric Division. This expansion of the Cornell Roybal Center will be called The Center for Integrated Translational Research on Aging and Social Integration (CITRAS). This unique partnership brings together the three areas crucial for translational research on aging and social integration: mental health, clinical research, and social science. An especially important feature of this proposal is the engagement of community stakeholders at every stage in the research process, thereby acknowledging the complex, multidimensional needs of isolated older people and the constituencies that serve them. These partnerships will bring Center interventions to locations where most socially isolated older persons are served, creating a "laboratory" in which we will study the delivery of efficacious treatments. Specific objectives for this renewal of the Roybal Center include: 1) Promoting and testing research based interventions involving the impact of social integration on mental and physical health; 2. Bringing together researchers with practitioners in the field of aging in the design and implementation of interventions and applied research studies; 3. Creating an effective infrastructure through the management core of the center that will coordinate the activities of individual investigators and maximize the effectiveness of practical applications; 4. Developing, mentoring, and evaluating pilot projects on the themes of social integration and health outcomes; 5. Generating funded research projects from federal and other sources, by mentoring and assisting investigators; 6. Devoting special attention to social isolation in minority communities, which will be enhanced by a formal connection to the Resource Center for Minority Aging Research at New York Presbyterian Hospital.