The Vulnerable Aging Recruitment and Retention Core (VARC) Older adults are vastly underrepresented in research. This underrepresentation is even more pronounced for older adults with medical vulnerability (e.g., cognitive impairment and complex multi-morbidity) and/or social vulnerability (e.g., isolation, poverty, limited literacy or homelessness). These medical and social vulnerabilities often coexist and interact to produce profound effects on disease incidence, progression, outcomes, and response to health interventions. Yet older adults with these vulnerabilities are often difficult to recruit and retain, adversely affecting their representation in research and impairing our knowledge of how best to optimize their care. The UCSF Division of Geriatrics has an international reputation for expertise in the recruitment, retention, and protection of vulnerable older adults in research including in longitudinal cohorts and randomized trials. In our first cycle, the UCSF Older Adults Independence Center (OAIC) greatly expanded its support of the recruitment and retention of vulnerable older adults across UCSF. To build on this progress and meet the increased demand for our expertise, we propose to create a dedicated core: The Vulnerable Aging Recruitment and Retention Core (VARC). We propose the following aims: 1) Provide expert consultation for the design (e.g., pilots, longitudinal cohorts, and efficacy and pragmatic trials) and Institutional Review Board considerations for primary data collection studies that focus on older adults with medical and/or social vulnerabilities; 2) Support OAIC investigators on methods for recruiting, enrolling, and retaining vulnerable older adults, including appropriate informed consent procedures and the creation of community advisory boards; 3) Establish administrative, mentorship and educational resources to train OAIC-affiliated researchers and staff concerning the logistics of recruitment, enrollment, and consent of vulnerable populations; 4) Advise on the incorporation of predictor and outcome measures of medical vulnerability (e.g., cognitive impairment, frailty) and social vulnerability (e.g., health literacy, poverty, social isolation, etc.) in collaboration with the Data and Analysis Core. 5) Support development projects that create novel methods for improving recruitment and retention of vulnerable older adults into research studies.
| Humphreys, Jessi; Ahalt, Cyrus; Stijacic-Cenzer, Irena et al. (2018) Six-Month Emergency Department Use among Older Adults Following Jail Incarceration. J Urban Health 95:523-533 |
| Kata, Anna; Sudore, Rebecca; Finlayson, Emily et al. (2018) Increasing Advance Care Planning Using a Surgical Optimization Program for Older Adults. J Am Geriatr Soc 66:2017-2021 |
| Walker, Evan; McMahan, Ryan; Barnes, Deborah et al. (2018) Advance Care Planning Documentation Practices and Accessibility in the Electronic Health Record: Implications for Patient Safety. J Pain Symptom Manage 55:256-264 |
| Ishida, Julie H; McCulloch, Charles E; Steinman, Michael A et al. (2018) Opioid Analgesics and Adverse Outcomes among Hemodialysis Patients. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 13:746-753 |
| Wehner, M R; Dalma, N; Landefeld, C et al. (2018) Natural history of lesions suspicious for basal cell carcinoma in older adults in Ikaria, Greece. Br J Dermatol 179:767-768 |
| Shi, Ying; Fung, Kathy Z; John Boscardin, W et al. (2018) Individualizing PSA Monitoring Among Older Prostate Cancer Survivors. J Gen Intern Med 33:602-604 |
| Quartuccio, Michael; Simonsick, Eleanor M; Langan, Susan et al. (2018) The relationship of health literacy to diabetes status differs by sex in older adults. J Diabetes Complications 32:368-372 |
| Zapata, Carly; Lum, Hillary D; Wistar, Emily et al. (2018) Feasibility of a Video-Based Advance Care Planning Website to Facilitate Group Visits among Diverse Adults from a Safety-Net Health System. J Palliat Med 21:853-856 |
| Givens, Jane L; Sudore, Rebecca L; Marshall, Gad A et al. (2018) Advance Care Planning in Community-Dwelling Patients With Dementia. J Pain Symptom Manage 55:1105-1112 |
| Brown, Rebecca T; Covinsky, Kenneth E (2018) Frailty as an Outcome in Geriatrics Research: Not Ready for Prime Time? Ann Intern Med 168:361-362 |
Showing the most recent 10 out of 234 publications
