The Elderly Care Research Center

Dr. Eva Kahana, Director
Project Website

Primary activities of the Center include research into diverse theory based on relevant public policy issues related to the elderly. A programmatic thrust at the Center has been the focus on health and mental health outcomes of stress, coping and adaptation.

Research has been focused on predictors of wellness as well as of vulnerability. Study samples have ranged from the frail and institutionalized aged to adventurous older adults undertaking long distance moves. Cross-national and cross-cultural comparisons and focus on ethnic differences also represent a unique aspect of our orientation to research. In recognition of the multiple environmental and social influences on well-being of the elderly, research has been interdisciplinary in nature, bringing to bear qualitative as well as quantitative methods of Sociology, Psychology and other social science disciplines on the issues under study. In addition to publishing results of research in professional journals and presenting them to the scientific community, ECRC is committed to broad dissemination of research in a readily understood format to community organizations, professionals and to elderly participants in diverse studies. Effective intervention programs have been developed and implemented based on findings of some research projects.

 

The Cancer Survivors Research Program

Dr. Gary Deimling, Director
Project Website

Conducted at the Sociology Department of Case Western Reserve University, the Cancer Survivors Research Program (CSRP) investigates important research issues in psychosocial oncology. Formally started in September 1998, the CSRP has been funded for 10 years by the National Cancer Institute. Dr. Gary Deimling serves as the CSRP’s director and principal investigator and is assisted by colleagues in the Department of Sociology and the Case School of Medicine.

As with many other research programs within the department and the university at large, the CSRP also serves as a teaching facility by training graduate students in the many methodological and theoretical aspects of sociomedical research. The project allows students in the Sociology Ph.D. program to gain hands-on experience in a formal research setting while putting their coursework into practice.