The study of adult development and aging has become a central focus of researchers and educators in almost every university in the United States. At the University of Pittsburgh, social science, medical, and legal expertise on aging issues can be found in virtually all schools and departments. These human resources are augmented by extensive research, service, and training facilities that provide both direct services to older adults in the Pittsburgh area and hands-on training to students and research fellows.

The mission of the Gerontology Program is to act as a catalyst and coordinator for the multidisciplinary study of aging. In collaboration with faculty in more than a dozen different disciplines (e.g., Psychiatry, Anesthesiology, Rheumatology, Nursing, Epidemiology), Program faculty and staff play an active role in the development of proposals for research focused on psychosocial, behavioral, cognitive, and physical aspects of aging. The principal goals of the Gerontology Program are to:

• Stimulate the development of externally funded research in five areas: physical and mental health of older adults; work and retirement; aging and social institutions; socialization and social supports; and cultural differences and aging;
  
• Operate as the information hub for interdisciplinary research and training resources throughout the University; and
  
• Assist in the development of new gerontological training and service programs that serve the research and training missions of the University.

In concert with these goals, a University Council on Aging has recently been created which includes faculty and administrators from the Schools of the Health Sciences and Arts and Sciences. This Council currently provides guidance on the development of a comprehensive data base on research and training programs in aging at the University, reviews existing research and training programs for possible enhancement and integration, and identifies new research and training initiatives in aging.

Program faculty and staff serve as investigators on numerous research studies focused on older adults and their families, including the Geriatric Education Program of Pennsylvania (GEC/PA), the Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health (REACH), and the Pittsburgh Mind-Body Center (PMBC).

Graduate Certificate in Gerontology - View PDF

The University of Pittsburgh Council on Aging has collaborated to create a Graduate Certificate in Gerontology.  The program is designed to serve professionals in diverse disciplines, in a variety of industries, who are interested in acquiring basic knowledge about gerontology and geriatrics, and specialized knowledge of aging and aging processes in their particular disciplines or occupations.

You can pursue a certificate to gain credentials and skills in a specific area of study.   You can enroll solely in a certificate program or pursue a certificate along with a degree program.  You can often apply credits you earn for the certificate toward a degree program.

Stay competitive in your field with specialized knowledge of aging and the aging process.  Adapt your delivery of services, programs, or products with in-depth knowledge of the biological, psychological, and sociological aspects of an aging population as well as specialized knowledge in the discipline of your choice.  Choose a specialization track in Dentistry, Law, Nursing, Occupational Therapy/Rehabilitation, Public Health, Social Work, or the multidisciplinary track.  Print and submit the Admission Application (PDF).

Gerontology Program Research Registry

Many advances in medicine have resulted from research involving the collection and analysis of information from patients with certain health conditions, and their family members.  This registry will enhance our ability to conduct studies on health, aging, and caregiving.  Without volunteers and public support for research, advancement in healthcare would not be possible.  Participation in research may benefit the individual or others.  If you are interested in learning more about participating in the University Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR) Gerontology Program Research Registry, please contact our program office at 412-624-5532.

Current Research Projects

Aging Well, Sleeping Efficiently: Intervention Studies (AgeWise)

The overall aim of this program project is to determine whether the lives, health and well-being of normal elderly people can be improved by behavioral interventions designed to enhance their sleep. Project 1 (Monk) seeks to determine whether the lives of recently widowed seniors (65y+) can be improved by Social Rhythm Therapy in which lifestyle regularity is increased and healthy sleep practices followed. Project 2 (Hall) is concerned with spousal caregivers (65y+) of early Alzheimer patients and an intervention designed to enhance their sleep and reduce the stress of caregiving. Project 3 (Buysse) aims to compare the efficacy of a brief behavioral treatment for insomnia to an information-only control condition in patients (65y+) with the usual morbidities of aging seen in primary care settings. Project 4 (Reynolds) will test the efficacy of restricting time in bed (by 30 minutes) plus education in healthy sleep practices as a means of maintaining or improving sleep quality in the very old (75y+) and thus enhancing their daytime alertness, mood, cognitive function, and well being. Project 5 (Nofzinger) seeks to identify sleep-related functional neuroanatomic changes that accompany age-related changes and intervention related changes of sleep in healthy elders (75y+).

Principal Investigator: Timothy H. Monk, Ph.D.
Co-Investigators: Charles Reynolds, Ph.D., Daniel J. Buysse, Ph.D., Victoria J. Grochocinski, Ph.D., Martica Hall, Ph.D., Frank Jenkins, Ph.D., Lynn M. Martire, Ph.D., Sati Mazumdar, Ph.D., Carolyn Cidis Meltzer, Ph.D., Douglas E. Moul, Ph.D., Robert D. Nebes, Ph.D., Eric Nofzinger, Ph.D., Hernando Ombao, Ph.D., Richard Schulz, Ph.D., Katherine M. Shear, Ph.D

Funding Agency: National Institute on Aging
Project Period: 6/1/03-5/31/08

Arthritis Education Project, Pittsburgh Mind-Body Center (PMBC)

Link: http://www.wpic.pitt.edu/pmbc/

The specific aims of this study are to: 1) determine if osteoarthritis patients and their spouses experience greater health benefits from an educational intervention targeted at both individuals than from an educational intervention targeted only at the patient; 2) determine the extent to which the health effects of the dual target approach are mediated through psychological, social, behavioral, and biological pathways for both patient and spouse; and 3) identify chronic or stable burdens and resources that determine which types of patients and spouses experience the greatest health benefits from patient education and couple education.

Principal Investigator: Lynn M. Martire, Ph.D.
Co-Investigators: Richard Schulz, Ph.D., Terence W. Starz, M.D., Thomas E. Rudy, Ph.D.

Funding Agency: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Project Period: 9/30/99-8/31/04

Psychiatric and Physical Health Effects of Caregiving (CHES)

The current study is an ancillary study of the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) of the elderly. The CHS is a prospective, epidemiologic study designed to investigate the etiology and natural history of cardiovascular disease and its clinical sequelae in persons 65 years and older. A population based sample of 5888 was recruited to participate in the CHS. The purpose of the Caregiver Health Effects Study (CHES) is to assess the physical and psychiatric health effects of spousal caregiving in a population-based sample of elderly persons aged 65 and over. Our sample of 819 caregivers/controls is drawn from the CHS sample and therefore takes advantage of the sampling, recruitment, and vast quantities of physical health data and measurement expertise available from the CHS. The CHES represents a unique opportunity to assess the long-term health effects of caregiving as well as characterize the natural history of caregiving in a large, representative population. Our primary aims continue to be the assessment of short- and long-term psychiatric and physical health effects of caregiving.

Funding Source: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Project Period: 9/1992-5/2004

Principal Investigator: Richard Schulz, Ph.D.
Co-Investigators: Lynda Burton, Ph.D., Bonnie Lind, Ph.D., Calvin Hirsch, M.D., Sharon A. Jackson, Ph.D.

Family Relationships in Late Life II (FRILL2)

This five year, multi-site study focuses on the complex factors that determine the quality of care informal caregivers are likely to provide to community-residing frail and disabled elders. Major goals of FRILL2 include: 1) developing a brief portable instrument useful to practitioners that characterizes the quality of care provided by informal caregivers and 2) comparing quality of care predictors and outcomes within and between White and African American caregivers.

Principal Investigator: Gail M. Williamson, Ph.D., University of Georgia
Co-Investigators: Keith Dooley, M.S., M.Ed.; Charles E. Lance, Ph.D., L. Stephen Miller, Ph.D., David R. Shaffer, Ph.D., Richard Schulz, Ph.D., Jordan I. Kosberg, Ph.D., Debra M. Nelson-Gardell, Ph.D., Forrest R. Scogin, Ph.D.

Funding Agency: National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Project Period: 8/1/02-7/30/07

Geriatric Education Center of Pennsylvania (GEC)

Link: http://www.gecpa.org/

The five statutory purposes that drive the GEC program serve as a basis for each initiative in the 5-year program plan: 1) Improve Training: projects have been developed to enhance clinical training for resident physicians and to build a recruitment model for increasing diversity among trainees; 2) Develop Curricula: projects have been developed to establish educational modules for an on-line distance learning system, new curriculum modules for geriatric vision specialists, and curricula for training practitioners in family caregiving issues; 3) Faculty Training: projects have been created for the establishment of a faculty development program in geriatric dentistry, and for the provision of evidence-based content and resources to faculty developing or revising courses in foot health, vision disorders and fall prevention; 4) Continuing Education: community linkages and collaborative partnerships have been developed in collaboration with organizations involved in training health professionals for work in both rural and urban medically underserved areas; 5)Clinical Training: opportunities will be provided for students to undertake projects in Community Health Centers (CHCs) in urban areas and at Area Health Education Center (AHEC) sites in rural Pennsylvania.

Director: Richard Schulz, PhD, University of Pittsburgh
Co-Director: John G. Hennon, EdD, University of Pittsburgh
Consortium Project Director: K. Warner Schaie, PhD, Penn State University
Consortium Project Director: Albert J. Finestone, MD, Temple University
Regional Coordinator: Susan B. Hoover, MPH, Penn State University
Regional Coordinator: Roberta A. Newton, PhD, Temple University

Funding Agency: Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Project Period: 7/01/02 – 6/30/07

Intervention Research Center for the Study of Late-Life Mood Disorders

Link: http://www.latelifedepression.org

The goal of the IRC/LLMD is to understand and reduce treatment response variability in geriatric depression and related disorders. This theme encompasses several broad issues: 1) what is treatment response in late-life depression? 2) how can treatment response be accelerated? 3) How can treatment response be maintained? 4) Why does age matter as a source of short- and long-term treatment-response variability? 5) How can the identification and management of treatment-resistant depression in later life be improved? and 6) What are the costs and benefits of combined treatment (either polypharmacy or medication plus psychotherapy) versus monotherapy? The IRC/LLMD provides infrastructure support to a portfolio of research projects, career development, and training grant awards aimed at: 1) improving treatment of elderly patients in the general medical sector and ameliorating risk factors for suicide; 2) accelerating the onset of antidepressant treatment response; 3) improving the early recognition of treatment resistance and developing strategies for improving response in such patients; 4) finding maintenance treatments with long-term efficacy, especially for patients over age 70; 5) developing preventive interventions to reduce the liability to late-onset depression; 6) developing strategies for minimizing residual disability and facilitating full recovery; and 7) developing cost-benefit information for combined treatments versus monotherapy.

Charles F. Reynolds III, M.D., Center Director
Core Principal Investigators:
Mary Amanda Dew, Ph.D.
Benoit H. Mulsant, M.D.
Richard Schulz, Ph.D.
Bruce G. Pollock, M.D., Ph.D.
Carolyn Cidis Meltzer, M.D.

Funding Agency: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Project Period: 03/01/2000 - 02/28/05z

Relationships in Late-Life Mood Disorder Project (RELATE)

This pilot study focuses on the friends and family members of late-life patients enrolled in treatment protocols for major depression or bipolar disorder. The Specific Aims of this research are as follows: 1) to characterize the knowledge, attitudes, burden, and depressive symptoms of informal caregivers to older adults with mood disorder; 2) to identify caregiver factors that are related to baseline patient characteristics; and 3) to assess the informational and support needs of caregivers.

Principal Investigator: Lynn M. Martire, Ph.D.

Funding Source: IRC-LLMD seed monies; National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Project Period: 12/18/02-11/30/07

Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health (REACH) II

The objective of this program is to refine and test a multi-component psychosocial behavioral intervention to reduce burden and depression among family caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's Disease or related disorders. This program will build on existing infrastructures and results obtained from its parent multi-site feasibility study, Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health (REACH). REACH, (funded by the National Institute on Aging [NIA] and the National Institute for Nursing Research (NINR) UO1-AG13305) explored the effectiveness of different interventions to reduce burden and distress of family caregivers in six participating sites. Detailed analyses of these data suggest specific components of the REACH interventions that may be efficacious in improving caregiver outcomes.

Principal Investigators: Louis Burgio, Ph.D., Robert Burns, M.D., Dolores Gallagher-Thompson, Ph.D., Laura Gitlin, Ph.D., Sara Czaja, Ph.D., Alan Stevens, Ph.D., Richard Schulz, Ph.D.
Co-Principal Investigator: Steven Belle, Ph. D.

Funding Source: National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Project Period: 10/01/01- 8/31/04

Spinal Cord Injury Project

The overall objective of the proposed project is to test the efficacy of an innovative multi-component psychosocial/technology intervention aimed at reducing the risk for adverse health outcomes among family caregivers of older survivors with spinal cord injury, and to improve the well being of the spinal cord injured survivor. For the caregiver, risk is characterized as a multivariate construct comprised of five indicators: depressive symptoms, burden, self-care, social support, and health symptoms. The same risk construct applies to the SCI care recipient with the exception of the burden measure. The study design is a multi-site, three-group, randomized clinical trial comparing two active intervention conditions with each other and to an information-only control group. Caregiver and survivor dyads will be randomly assigned to one of three conditions: a caregiver-only intervention (single target) in which caregivers receive a multi- component intervention based on their risk profile: a caregiver plus care-recipient intervention (dual target) in which the caregiver intervention is complemented by a treatment targeting the SCI survivor, designed to address care recipient risk factors; and an information-only control condition in which the caregiver receives standard information about caregiving, SCI , and aging typically available from social service and health agencies. The benefits of treatment for both the caregiver and care recipient should be greater in the dual treatment approach when compared to the caregiver-only condition. The caregiver-only condition should be superior to the information-only control condition with respect to caregiver outcomes, but not necessarily for care recipient outcomes.

Principal Investigators: Richard Schulz, Ph.D., Sara Czaja, Ph.D.
Co-Investigators: Judy Matthews, Ph.D., Lynn M. Martire, Ph.D., Joan Rogers, Ph.D., Sati Mazumdar, Ph.D.

Funding Source: National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
Project Period: 9/30/02-6/30/07