Meeting Summary
Current Issues in Psychosocial Intervention Research in Late-Life Mental Disorders
September 1, 2006
Arlington, Virginia
NIMH’s Geriatrics Research Branch in the Division of Adult Translational Research and Treatment Development (DATR) organized this multidisciplinary workshop, held in Arlington, Virginia in September 2006. Participants discussed the current state of research and formulated ideas for new research directions that could advance the field. Topics considered included: clinical gaps in the current knowledge base; opportunities for developing new therapies and researching new target populations; increased attention to cognitive impairment as a variable in intervention development and outcome studies; improved inclusion of ethnic minorities; adaptation and dissemination of interventions to geriatric care settings; integration of neuroscience research into geriatric psychosocial intervention studies; and methodological refinements to better handle factors such as patient treatment preferences and assessments of cost-effectiveness. The workshop also resulted in the establishment of a listserv among the workshop participants that will be expanded into a larger email network to facilitate communication and collaboration among psychosocial intervention researchers in geriatric mental health. For more information, please contact George Niederehe at gniedere@mail.nih.gov.
