Increasing Aging Research by Social Work Faculty

描述（由申请人提供）：此更新申请寻求NIA的部分支持，为15名社会工作教师提供研究培训计划。所要求的赠款将得到哈特福德基金会通过与美国老年学会联络而批准的70 000美元承诺的补充。该计划建立在自2004年以来为社会工作教师提供的非常成功的研究培训计划的基础上。总体目标保持不变：扩大从事老龄化研究的社会工作教师的人数。反过来，这将重振他们的教学，准备更新课程中与老龄化有关的内容，并提高他们的能力，激励新一代的社会工作学生追求老龄化的研究。具体目标包括：（1）增加社会工作教师的知识，技能和动力，追求积极的老龄化研究计划;（2）为参与者提供与高级研究人员深入互动的机会，并促进当前和以前的参与者之间的网络关系的发展;（3）提高参与者对NIH提供的资助支持以及如何开发和提交强有力的申请的认识。2004年至2008年期间参加社会工作方案的人中，超过56%的人已经获得了研究资金，这一事实证明了这种培训模式的成功。此外，30%的参与者从早期的NIA资助的心理学研究所已获得NIA/NIH的资金，另有50%已收到其他来源的赠款。所有提议的活动都将涉及与美国老年学协会继续密切合作。哈特福德基金会，社会工作和研究协会，社会工作教育理事会，哈特福德老年人丰富计划，社会工作研究促进协会和全国社会工作者协会。研究所的主题和教师包括：研究设计，测量和分析（Aloen汤森），干预措施的评估（苏珊休斯），照顾和残疾（玛莎萨尔茨），种族和老龄化（基思惠特菲尔德），准备拨款申请（钱德拉Mehrotra），NIA支持可用于老龄化研究（NIA工作人员），并提交电子拨款申请（钱德拉Mehrotra和Aloen汤森）。鉴于该方案迄今为止成功地实现了40%的少数族裔参与，招聘工作将继续侧重于吸引来自不同族裔和种族背景以及残疾人的参与者。将进行定量和定性的方案评价，以监测拟议活动的执行情况，并评估其在实现预期成果方面的有效性。计划教师和参与者将通过会议演示，出版物和网站传播NIA支持的活动。本着转化研究的精神，重点将是与与老年人及其家人一起工作的卫生和社会服务专业人员分享研究成果及其影响。这反过来又将改善老年人的健康状况，特别是那些来自服务不足人口的老年人。 公共卫生相关性：社会工作专业在跨学科团队的背景下，以及在不同人群的直接实践中，在各个层面上与护理和服务系统合作，发展了重要的临床专业知识。拟议的研究培训计划将激励社会工作教师及其学生进行实证研究，旨在提高这些干预措施的效率和有效性，以优化老年人的健康结果。此外，与会者将广泛传播其研究成果，从而为改善老年人的健康状况，特别是那些过去得不到充分服务的老年人的健康状况作出独特而重要的贡献。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This renewal application seeks partial support from NIA to offer a research training program for 15 social work faculty. The requested grant will be supplemented by a $70,000 commitment that has been approved by the Hartford Foundation through a liaison with the Gerontological Society of America. The proposed program builds upon a highly successful research training program for social work faculty offered since 2004. The overarching goal remains the same: to expand the pool of social work faculty engaged in aging research. This, in turn, will reinvigorate their teaching, prepare them to update aging-related content in the curriculum, and enhance their ability to motivate new generations of social work students to pursue the study of aging. Specific aims include: (1) To increase social work faculty's knowledge, skills, and motivation for pursuing an active program of aging research; (2) To provide participants an opportunity to interact intensively with senior investigators and to promote the development of networking relationships among current and prior participants; and (3) To increase participants' awareness of grant support available from NIH and how to develop and submit strong applications. The success of this training model is documented by the fact that more than 56 percent of those who participated in the social work program between 2004 and 2008 have already secured research funding. Moreover, 30 percent of the participants from an earlier NIA-funded psychology institute have secured NIA/NIH funding and an additional 50 percent have received grants from other sources. All of the proposed activities will involve continuing strong collaboration with the Gerontological Society of America, John A. Hartford Foundation, Society for Social Work and Research, Council for Social Work Education, The Hartford Geriatric Enrichment Program, Institute for Advancement of Social Work Research, and National Association of Social Workers. Institute topics and instructors include: Research Design, Measurement, and Analysis (Aloen Townsend), Evaluation of Interventions (Susan Hughes), Caregiving and Disabilities (Marsha Seltzer), Ethnicity and Aging (Keith Whitfield), Preparing Grant Applications (Chandra Mehrotra), NIA Support Available for Aging Research (NIA staff), and Submitting Grant Applications Electronically (Chandra Mehrotra and Aloen Townsend). Given the program's success in achieving 40 percent minority participation to date, recruitment efforts will continue to focus on attracting participants from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds and those with disabilities. Quantitative and qualitative program evaluation will be conducted to monitor implementation of proposed activities and to assess their effectiveness in achieving the intended outcomes. Program faculty and participants will disseminate NIA-supported activities via conference presentations, publications, and websites. In the spirit of translational research, the focus will be on sharing research findings and their implications with health and social service professionals who work with older adults and their families. This, in turn, will enhance the health status of older adults, especially those from underserved populations. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The social work profession has developed significant clinical expertise in working with and across systems of care and services on a variety of levels in the context of interdisciplinary teams and in direct practice with diverse populations. The proposed research training program will stimulate social work faculty and their students to undertake empirical research aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of these interventions to optimize health outcomes for older adults. In addition, the participants will conduct widespread dissemination of their research findings, thereby making a unique and important contribution to improving the health status of older adults, especially those underserved in the past.