Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Aging Among Adults with Serious Mental Illnesses: Supporting Individuals to Live As Vibrant Elders in Recovery ( RRTC – S.I.L.V.E.R.)

The Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, with a large network of collaborators, will conduct a five-year Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Aging Among Adults with Serious Mental Illnesses (SMI), funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research ( NIDILRR), a federal agency within the Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services.

The goal is to conduct a coordinated program of research and knowledge translation activities that builds an evidence base on enhancing late life for adults with serious mental illnesses and promotes its use.

The RRTC research portfolio is guided by two objectives: 1) generate new knowledge about the individual and environmental factors contributing to health disparities among adults aging with SMI (Project R-1), and new knowledge about promising state-level policies regulating the care of older individuals with particular relevance to aging adults with SMI (Project R-4); and 2) develop and evaluate interventions that are likely to improve the health and community living of adults aging with SMI (Projects R-2 and R-3).

Project R-1: National picture of health disparities and their association with social determinants of health and disability of older adults with SMI.

Project R-2: Reimagining aging through meaning and purpose in community living (RAMP-CL): Development and testing of a comprehensive intervention to promote the community living of aging adults with serious mental illnesses.

Project R-3: Enhancing social connection, health, and cognition in older persons: A pilot randomized trial of the Hopeful and Healthy Aging program.

Project R-4: An exploratory study to identify promising state policies and policy gaps affecting the health and community living of older adults with serious mental illnesses across the United States.

The National Resource Center (NRC) will conduct dissemination, training and technical assistance, activities to increase the use of research findings; objectives to: 1) conduct online dissemination activities (Project D-1); 2) develop/enhance academic and in-service training to help expand a workforce and support networks, competent to serve a diversity of older adults with SMI (Projects TR-1 and TR-2); 3) conduct intensive TA to improve cross sector strategic planning for services. Anticipated short term outcomes include increased knowledge, awareness, attitudes, skills, practices related to enhancing late life for people with SMI (Project TA-1).

Products relevant to a range of stakeholders, including those ethnically and racially diverse, will be produced and include: manualized interventions and curricula; provider and supporter training programs, state Policy Academies; National Conference report; Taskforce on Workforce Strategies report; webinars, website, social media groups; briefs, presentations and publications.

Project D-1: The National Resource Center on Late Life Enhancement for Older Adults with Serious Mental Illnesses: An online “push” – “pull” dissemination strategy.

Project TR-1: Creating Relationships of Empowerment and Wellbeing (CREW): Training families and community support workers to enhance late life for adults with SMI.

Project TR-2: Changing hearts, minds and practice: National Resource Center as a workforce development hub.

Project TA-1: Policy Academy: Technical assistance to state systems enhancing late life of adults with SMI.

• Philippe Bloch
• David Braverman
• Ben Canter
• Lisa Krystynak
• Amanda Lowe
• Lauren McKnight
• Sarah Pratt
• Alex Shulman
• Alexa Trolley-Hansen
• Aaron Wells
• Haiyi Xie