The aim of the Principal Research Core is to generate and support research that willenhance and expand the Center's capacity to move mental health interventions and services for middle-agedand older people with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders into community settings. The proposedwork builds upon previous studies and an assessment of unmet needs of the various stakeholders. Themain objectives are to develop or adapt and test interventions that are effective as well as practical, and toidentify approaches to dissemination and implementation of such interventions in the community. We willuse different intervention approaches (preventive, treatment, and rehabilitative), with the focus being on thefollowing themes: (I) Optimizing pharmacotherapy, (II) Enhancing recovery and self-efficacy throughpsychosocia! interventions, and (III) Developing and adapting assessments and interventions forunderserved subgroups. A critical component of this Core will be interactive, bi-directional communicationwith community stakeholders including consumers, caregivers, and care providers throughout thedevelopment and execution of research projects.In this application, we propose three exemplar Developmental Research Projects, and five Pilot Projects.These projects were selected and refined through the community partnership, and will be accomplishedthrough close interactions among all the four Center Cores, building sustainable multidisciplinary teams ofinvestigators and community partners. These Research Projects include (I) Ecological MomentaryAssessment (EMA) Method Development, (ii) Saludable (A healthy lifestyle intervention for older Latinos),and (iii) Managing Medical Side Effects of Antipsychotics in a Community Mental Health Center. PilotProjects are single-year projects with budgets of $ 5,000 to $ 10,000 each, and led either by investigatorswith relatively little research experience or by community partners, who are paired with appropriate facultynvestigators. Examples of Pilot Projects include studies of a peer support intervention, web-based trainingfor shared decision making, an intervention for suicidality, a qualitative study of remission or successful agingn people with schizophrenia, and an intervention to improve the informed consent process in monolingualSpanish-speaking Latinos. There is a process for regular evaluation of the progress of the projects by thePartners' Council as well as by external reviewers, with a 'sunset policy' in place.Relevance: Through close interactions with community stakeholders, the Principal Reserch Core willdevelop and conduct research on innovative interventions and services for middle-aged and older peoplewith schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders in the community. The ultimate goal is to improve thequality of life of these individuals.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 107 publications
