Ronald Acierno
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, TX·Psychology
Elder mistreatment, meaning abuse or neglect of older adults, including self-neglect, harms many people. Yet few behavioral treatments are designed specifically to prevent it or to help victims afterward.
- Fields
Psychology
Public Health & Epidemiology
Medicine & Clinical Research
- Topics
elder mistreatment
elder abuse
elder neglect
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through May 2029
What they work on
- Select and support two to three pilot projects each year that develop behavioral interventions for elder mistreatment at stages 0–2 of the NIH Stage Model for Behavioral Intervention Development.
- Provide systematic training and mentorship so pilots overcome regulatory, recruitment and technical barriers and clearly measure hypothesized mechanisms of behavior change.
- Use real-time ecological momentary analysis of heart rate variability, a marker of stress reactivity, to study mistreatment aggression potential in new stroke caregivers, using mixed methods.
- Test interventions delivered through Adult Protective Services for elder neglect and self-neglect, and a web-based program for caregivers of hospitalized veterans with dementia during the transition home.
More about the research
Proven interventions already exist in related fields, for example for caregiver stress or depression. The premise of this work is that these interventions can be adapted to elder mistreatment, quickly and effectively.
Why it matters
Older adults at risk of abuse or neglect, and those already harmed, could benefit from treatments adapted from proven approaches. Examples include support that eases strain on dementia and stroke caregivers, and depression treatment offered through Adult Protective Services. By helping pilot studies move past regulatory and recruitment hurdles, the core may speed the development of mechanism-focused prevention and treatment programs.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
David Hancock
Weill Medical College of Cornell University, NY·Public Health & Epidemiology·Early-career
Develop and refine candidate items for the EM-AD, a new measure of elder mistreatment tailored to dementia family caregivers, using feedback from caregivers and geriatric professionals to establish that the items cover the right content.
Kevin Volpp
University of Pennsylvania, PA·Public Health & Epidemiology
Support research across the NIH Stage Model, from basic idea testing to dissemination, that translates behavioral economic concepts into better health behaviors and health for older adults.
Laura Mosqueda
University of Southern California, CA·Public Health & Epidemiology
Develop and feasibility-test a brief evidence-based Risk Assessment Screen that primary care clinics can use to identify care partners of people living with dementia who are at risk of inflicting elder mistreatment.
The school
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston: 25 labs on PI Pages, $419M a year on research, 340 research doctorates a year.
More about University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
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