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30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280 000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）增加社会工作系的知识、技能和积极性，以开展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，并促进他们之间网络关系的发展;（3）提高参与者对NIA/NIH提供的支助的认识，从而增加他们向这些机构提交的强有力的申请的数量。2004年至2006年期间参加我们社会工作研究所的人中有55%以上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，25%的参与者从早期的NIA资助的心理学研究所获得了NIA/NIH的资金，另有50%的人从其他来源获得了赠款资金。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Mehrotra），NIA支持可用于老龄化研究（NIA工作人员），传播和出版（钱德拉Mehrotra，苏珊休斯，和Aloen汤森）。招聘工作将继续侧重于吸引来自不同族裔和种族背景的参与者以及残疾人。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成果方面的有效性。PI Chandra Mehrotra，共同PI Barbara Berkman和与会者将通过会议演讲，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，特别是那些过去得不到充分服务的人。社会工作专业已经发展出了重要的临床专业知识，在各种层面上与护理和服务系统合作。在跨学科团队的背景下，并在直接实践中与不同和/或多问题人群。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有效性并优化健康结果的实证研究。此外，与会者将广泛传播他们的研究成果，从而为改善健康做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 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.