Recruiting, Reviewing, and Retaining High-Risk Older Adult Populations

Abstract

The Institute on Aging and Social Work (IASW) provides social work faculty with advanced training in aging research with the goal of mentoring individuals to develop National Institutes of Health (NIH) research proposals. The program offers an excellent opportunity for top-level training with nationally recognized experts in research methodology related to aging, and it is designed to offer participating faculty advanced skills in research design, measurement, data analysis, and evaluation of interventions. This article highlights how lessons learned at the IASW regarding research focused on at-risk, vulnerable older adult populations were applied in recruiting and retaining older adult methadone clients into a National Institute on Drug Abuse study on treating late-life depression. The study was funded by a K08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award, an NIH funding mechanism that provides individuals with a clinical doctoral degree with five years of protected time for training and research.