Center on Advancing Decision Making in Aging

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Stanford Center on Advancing Decision Making in Aging (CADMA) will promote the study of decision making processes and the determinants of choices that affect health and well-being in the later years of life. CADMA researchers plan to conduct basic and applied research on decision making processes with a goal of developing and implementing practical methods for improving fundamental decisions affecting the wellbeing of the elderly. The research will be conducted by collaborating psychologists, psychiatrists, geriatricians and other physicians, experts on medical informatics, epidemiologists, and economists. CADMA research will focus on the following areas: 1. To investigate the roles that age-related changes in emotion and cognition play in decision making, especially those surrounding cognitively complex (e.g., health care plan choice) and emotionally charged (e.g., decisions about end-of-life care) topics. 2. To learn how decision making processes influence day-to-day decisions, such as choices regarding exercise and diet, that influence health and functional status ofthe elderly. 3. To develop and evaluate support tools or information useful to such tools that could be provided at or near the time of when people face difficult life decisions. Support is proposed for administrative and communications/dissemination infrastructure (Core A) and new project development (Core B). CADMA will support early stage research and its development into longer term, comprehensive projects, followed by practical implementation via several linked mechanisms: establishing formal procedures for soliciting and evaluating applications for pilot projects; providing ongoing project evaluation and mentorship by senior faculty; conducting seminars and using other venues for collaboration and information exchange; giving advice and support for proposals for large-scale research projects; and facilitating collaboration with community affiliates and other external bodies for further testing and dissemination of the products of Roybal Center research.