Increasing Aging Research by Social Work Faculty

描述（由申请人提供）：此续期申请寻求NIA的部分支持，为30名社会工作教员提供研究培训计划。哈特福德基金会通过与美国老年学学会的联络，批准了一笔28万美元的承诺来补充所请求的赠款。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员的数量。反过来，这将重振他们的教学，准备他们更新课程中与老龄化相关的内容，并提高他们激励社会工作学生从事老龄化研究的能力。具体目标包括：(1)提高社会工作教师的知识、技能和从事积极的老龄化研究项目的动机；(2)为参与者提供与高级调查人员密切互动的机会，并促进他们之间网络关系的发展；(3)提高参与者对NIA/NIH支持的认识，从而增加他们向这些机构提交的强有力的申请数量。这一培训模式的成功是由以下事实证明的：在2004年至2006年期间参加我们社会工作学院的学生中，超过55%的人已经获得了研究资金。此外，来自早期NIA资助的心理学研究所的25%的参与者获得了NIA/NIH的资助，另外50%的参与者获得了其他来源的资助。所有提议的活动都将涉及与美国老年学学会、约翰·哈特福德基金会、社会工作与研究学会、社会工作教育理事会、哈特福德老年学充实计划、社会工作研究进步研究所和全国社会工作者协会的持续强有力的合作。研究所的主题和导师包括：研究设计、测量和分析（阿伦·汤森）、干预评估（苏珊·休斯）、护理和残疾（玛莎·塞尔策）、种族和老龄化（基思·惠特菲尔德）、准备拨款申请（钱德拉·梅罗特拉）、NIA对老龄化研究的支持（NIA工作人员）以及传播和出版（钱德拉·梅罗特拉、苏珊·休斯和阿伦·汤森）。招聘工作将继续侧重于吸引来自不同民族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，并确定其在实现预期结果方面的有效性。PI Chandra Mehrotra、联合PI Barbara Berkman和参与者将通过会议演讲、出版物和网站传播他们的nia支持的活动。本着转化研究的精神，将特别注意与从事老年人及其家庭工作的保健和社会服务专业人员分享研究成果及其影响。反过来，这将提高老年人的健康状况，特别是那些来自过去得不到充分服务的人口的老年人。社会工作专业在与不同层次的护理和服务系统合作方面发展了重要的临床专业知识。在跨学科团队的背景下，在不同和/或多重问题人群的直接实践中。拟议的研究培训计划将激励社会工作教师及其学生进行旨在提高这些干预措施的效率和效果并优化健康结果的实证研究。此外，参与者将广泛传播其研究成果，从而为改善健康作出独特和重要的贡献。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This renewal application seeks partial support from NIA to offer a research training program for 30 social work faculty. The requested grant will be supplemented by a $280,000 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 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 them; (3) To increase participants' awareness of support available from NIA/NIH, thereby increasing the number of strong applications they submit to these agencies. The success of this training model is documented by the fact that more than 55 percent of those who participated in our social work institute between 2004 and 2006 have already secured research funding. Moreover, 25 percent of the participants from an earlier NIA-funded psychology institute have secured NIA/NIH funding and an additional 50 percent have received grant funding 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 Dissemination and Publication (Chandra Mehrotra, Susan Hughes, and Aloen Townsend). 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 determine their effectiveness in achieving the intended outcomes. PI Chandra Mehrotra, co-PI Barbara Berkman, and the participants will disseminate their NIA-supported activities via conference presentations, publications, and Web sites. In the spirit of translational research, special attention will be given to 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 populations underserved in the past. 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 and/or multi-problem 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 and optimizing health outcomes. In addition, the participants will conduct widespread dissemination of their research findings, thereby making a unique and important contribution to improved health.