Multiple NYU schools Involved

NYUCD will partner with the NYU College of Nursing (NYUCN) on a major two-year grant funded by the RAND Corporation, with support from The John A. Hartford Foundation, to develop a center focused on improving the health of older adults through innovative, interdisciplinary research. NYU is one of seven institutions nationwide to receive the grant, known as the “Building Interdisciplinary Geriatric Health Care Research Centers Initiative.” The award signifies both the ongoing importance of NYU’s work in the field of geriatrics and the promise of significant future contributions.

The new research center will capitalize on existing strengths in geriatric research and training at NYU, bringing together extensive gerontological expertise at NYUCN with that at NYUCD, the School of Medicine (SOM), School of Social Work and the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. Its mission is to develop and study innovative clinical and health-services interventions in geriatrics, and to provide inter-disciplinary research and training opportunities for new and established investigators.

The grant will focus on the following three pilot studies:

• The first study, involving NYUCN, NYUCD and SOM, will test an innovative methodology for estimating the prevalence and incidence of elder abuse — a significant contributor to morbidity and mortality among older adults — in a large sample of community-dwelling elderly.
• The second study, involving SOM and the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, aims to expand the reach of a highly successful falls screening and prevention program by offering screening, assessment and intervention within naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs).
• The third study, involving NYUCD, NYUCN and the School of Social Work, will assess the burden of xerostomia — or dry mouth — on the geriatric patient population at the Nursing Faculty Practice located within NYUCD. Researchers will investigate its causes, develop treatments for individual patients and determine the impact of the syndrome on subjects’ quality of life.