Research Grant Awarded to Jefferson College of Health Professions
Community and Homecare Research Division
Multi-site Intervention Trial will benefit Alzheimer's Caregivers

Philadelphia, PA - Thomas Jefferson University's College of Health Professions Community and Homecare Research Division (CHORD), has been awarded a three-year research grant for $1.2 million by the National Institute on Aging (NIA). Jefferson is one of six sites that have been funded by the NIA for this multi-site effort. This grant will build on the results of a six-year initiative, Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health (REACH) a multi-site feasibility study.

This new effort will refine and test a multi-component psychosocial behavioral intervention. "Most persons with Alzheimer's disease are cared for at home by a family member," according to Laura N. Gitlin, PhD, the study's principal investigator and director of CHORD. "Family caregivers often become the hidden patients who experience extreme emotional distress and poor health."

The Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health (REACH) initiative, a nationally and internationally recognized NIA study, will test a home-based intervention that is designed to help families cope with the multiple consequences of care giving and reduce the risk factors associated with being a caregiver. This is the first multi-site randomized trial that involves a behavioral intervention for family caregivers with the goal of reducing the multiple risks of caregiving including depression and burden.

CHORD was established in 1996 by the Jefferson College of Health Professions at Thomas Jefferson University. The Division serves as a focal point for applied research involving the development and testing of innovative community and home-based health and human services for individuals with chronic or disabling conditions, specifically, the elderly and their caregivers. Through research, CHORD investigators strive to produce valid, reliable data to improve both health-care services and the overall well-being of older persons. CHORD is currently engaged in projects that examine behavioral strategies and home modifications that enhance the quality of life for both patient and caregivers, enabling frail older adults to age in place, or remain at home.

Gitlin is a research sociologist and professor in the department of occupational therapy at Thomas Jefferson University's College of Health Professions, and visiting professor, rehabilitation science doctoral program, at the University of Buffalo. She also serves as the interim co-director and director of research for the Senior Health Institute at Jefferson Health System.

Gitlin has published extensively in gerontology and occupational therapy and has co-authored two books including: Understanding and Applying Multiple Strategies (1998) and Successful Grant Writing: Strategies for Health and Human Services Professionals (1996). Her funded research includes testing home-based interventions to improve function and well-being in older adults and family caregivers, adaptation to functional disability, and psychosocial outcomes.

Jefferson Jefferson College of Health Professions of Thomas Jefferson University, founded in 1969 and located in the heart of Philadelphia, provides innovative academic programs to a highly qualified, culturally diverse student population, with the primary goal of developing outstanding professionals and future leaders in health care. The College offers fully accredited bachelor's and master's degree programs in diagnostic imaging, laboratory sciences, nursing, occupational therapy and physical therapy. In addition, the College offers selected health certificate programs and associate degrees in the Department of General Studies.

Back