|  | Treatment Development: Bereavement in Older Adults Principal Investigator: Ronald Acierno, Ph.D. <bio sketch> < e-mail>
Funding Source: National Institute of Health/ National Institute of Aging (NIH/NIA)
Dates of Project: 9/05 - 8/07 The overall goal of this proposal is to develop a treatment manual for, and conduct initial evaluation of, a cost-effective intervention to ameliorate complicated bereavement and depression in older adult surviving spouses of recently deceased individuals. Specifically, we will develop an intervention that is sufficiently inexpensive and standardized to be used by most hospitals and hospice centers in the country. The specific aims are: - To use existing bereavement, PTSD, depression, and anxiety treatment research from the fields of nursing, social work, and psychiatry to develop a multidisciplinary treatment manual outlining a strategy to prevent or ameliorate complicated bereavement and depression, and to reduce risk for collateral health-related problems.
- To develop a two-component intervention that is highly standardized but also customizable to the community within which the older adult resides.
Component 1: video-based intervention for complicated bereavement symptoms that resemble PTSD
Component 2: Behavioral Activation Counseling
- To develop an intervention that emphasizes community involvement for seniors and makes maximal use of the resources of each community.
- To evaluate this multi-level intervention with 75 older adults in a 2 x 4 (treatment group by time: pre-treatment, post-treatment, 3 and 6 months follow up) repeated measures randomized controlled trial in terms of its ability to reduce emotional symptoms of complicated bereavement, including depression and anxiety. Specifically, to use typical "bereavement group therapy" as a comparison condition.
- To evaluate this intervention in a randomized controlled trial in terms of its ability to reduce and prevent health problems associated with protracted complicated bereavement.
Return to Current Grants |
