Ongoing Research and Programs
NYC Persistent Pain Advisory Group (PPAG)
The NYC Persistent Pain Advisory Group (PPAG) is an innovative group that aims to make a difference in the management of persistent pain in the community. The PPAG is a multidisciplinary team comprising of senior center directors, physicians, nurses, social workers, professors, a chaplain, representatives from Veterans’ Affairs, and other community leaders who have a common interest in persistent pain management, especially in the elderly.
CITRA Older Adult Research Subject Pool
CITRA director and faculty member in the College of Human Ecology, Karl Pillemer and the staff at CITRA are collaborating with other faculty members in the College to develop an older adult research subject pool in response to a growing need by researchers at Cornell interested in recruiting older (age 60 +) respondents/subjects to participate in a variety of research projects.
The Environmental Volunteerism and Civic Engagement program (EVCE)
The Environmental Volunteerism and Civic Engagement program (EVCE) explores the intersection of two critically important issues: greater social integration among older persons and concerns about environmental sustainability.
Partnering with key stakeholders in New York City (NYC), we are using community based participatory research (CBPR) approach to identify barriers to treatment, develop and pilot test methods to successfully address the barriers, and disseminate products generated from these activities using a broad range of community and academic venues.
Harlem Life Review and Health in Later Life Study
This project addresses the important problem of racial health disparities in older adulthood, in an effort to close the gap in the experience of well-being in the later years.
CITRA investigators were selected to evaluate Project Home, The ultimate goal of Project Home is to enable individuals, 65 years of age and older, who are being discharged from hospitals to nursing home care to live in home and community based care settings. The evaluation will measure two types of anticipated outcomes of Project Home: cost savings and anticipated participant well-being.
The Retention Specialist Project
This project recommends the designation of a trained retention specialist who has both the expertise and the ongoing support to systematically address problems of low job satisfaction and resulting turnover in a nursing home or other long-term care organization. The project provides indepth training and a portfolio of resources to the retention specialists who are charged with diagnosing and addressing retention problems.
Partners in Caregiving: Cooperative Communication Between Families and Nursing Homes
Two major mechanisms were employed by Partners in Caregiving (PIC) to bring about changes in family and staff perceptions and behaviors. Most important is the development of improved communication skills on the part of both groups. The second component of the intervention focused on discussing (and recommending changes in) facility policies and procedures.
Studying the Needs of the Aging in New York City: Concept Mapping Report
The purpose of this initiative was to better understand the range of issues facing senior service providers over the next 10-15 years in New York City and begin to direct research efforts toward meting identified needs resulting from this and other data.