Latino Aging Research Resource Center

Principal Investigator:  Ladson Hinton, M.D.

The Latino Aging Research Resource Center (LARRC) is a new resource center for minority aging research (RCMAR) at UC Davis and is funded by the National Institute on Aging. The UC Davis RCMAR addresses an important public health problem (cognitive health and impairment) in a demographically significant and historically under-served population (Latinos) that suffers from compelling evidence of disparities. The UC Davis RCMAR represents a collaboration between the UC Davis School of Medicine and Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. The Center's mission is to reduce disparities related to cognitive health and healthcare in Latinos through a well-integrated, interdisciplinary, and inter-professional mentoring program that will diversity the research workforce. In addition, through the creation of a network of community agencies, healthcare leaders and regional academic institution, the Center will advance cognitive health and healthcare for Latinos in California's central valley who suffer dramatic health disparities. The Center's four cores (administrative, investigator development, community liaison, and analysis) work in an integrated fashion to accomplish our goals.

Barriers to depression care among diverse older men in primary care

Principal Investigator:  Ladson Hinton, M.D.

The epidemic of suicide among older (i.e. age 60 and above) men in the US is a public health crisis. Older men have eight to ten-times higher rates of completed suicide than older women. Because depression is one of the strongest risk factors for suicide, improving care for depression in primary settings is a vital public health strategy to prevent suicide and other adverse outcomes of depression. Depression is more common in women than in men, but depressed older men and minorities are less likely to receive effective treatment. To address this knowledge gap and reduce disparities in older men and minorities, this NIMH-funded four year study applies both qualitative and quantitative methods to better understand the perspectives, experiences, and preferences for care of ethnically diverse depressed older men and the primary care providers who treat them. Our focus gender-specific focus and attention to age-related factors enables us to examine potentially important but under-studied variability among older men in how they experience and deal with their depression and will allow us to further develop our conceptual model and to develop strategies to engage more difficult to reach subgroups of diverse older men.

Alzheimer's Disease Center – Education and Translation Core

Core Director:  Ladson Hinton, M.D.

The Education Core (EITC) supports the overall mission of the NIA-funded UC Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Center (ADC) through activities related to recruitment and retention, autopsy consent, lay and professional education, and research training. The EITC has considerable expertise in minority outreach and supports the clinical core in recruiting and retaining an ethnically and demographically diverse cohort in multiple ways, including staff trainings, collaboration with community agencies, development of outreach materials, publication and dissemination of semi-annual newsletters. The EITC works closely with the clinical and neuropathology cores to monitor and promote minority participation in the brain donation program. For example, together with three other ADCs, the EITC is conducting a study of barriers to brain donation among minorities through a National Alzheimer's Coordination Center collaborative grant. The EITC, in collaboration with the Alzheimer's Association and other groups, educates lay communities about Alzheimer's disease and healthy brain aging by co-sponsoring major conferences, such as the Spanish Mini-Medical School, African American Wellness Forum on Healthy Aging and Sacramento Caregiver Conference. The EITC helps coordinate activities to educate professionals including web-based CME presentations on clinical topics and presentations at conferences and workshops. The EITC also educates professionals about culturally-appropriate initial assessment and treatment of ethnically diverse elders. Finally, the EITC maintains the ADC website, supporting other cores and the center as a whole.

Effects of cultural consultation on hospitalized psychiatric patients

Principal Investigator:  Hendry Ton, M.D.

Dr. Ton is currently conducting a case-control study examining the impact of cultural consultations utilizing the DSM-IV-TR Outline for Cultural Formulation on the number of hospital days and rates of rehospitalization in psychiatric patients from various ethnic backgrounds.