Tracey
Earland,
PhD, OTR/L, FNAP
Associate Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy
Jefferson College of Rehabilitation Sciences
Tracey Vause-Earland, PhD, OTR/L, FNAP is an Associate Professor in the College of Rehabilitation Sciences at Thomas Jefferson University. She has served as a principal investigator, project coordinator, and research interventionist on studies centered on patients with complex health and social needs, frailty, neurocognitive disorders, low vision, and veterans with traumatic head injury. Dr. Vause-Earland’s current practice areas include home-based occupational therapy and primary care services to older adults. Dr. Vause-Earland is a faculty member of Jefferson’s Center of Interprofessional Practice and Education and currently serves as Director for JCIPE’s innovative Student Hotspotting Program.
Presenting at the Nexus Summit:
Background: Loneliness among older adults is a significant public health concern in the United States. Preliminary reports of the widespread impact of COVID-19 accentuate a mounting need within the U.S. healthcare system for routine assessment, intervention, and prevention efforts to address loneliness and associated negative outcomes in older adults.Objectives: To evaluate the impact of an occupational therapy-led intervention of developing individualized action plans on feelings of loneliness and self-efficacy among older adults with chronic illness.Method: Adults aged 60+ were recruited…
BackgroundLoneliness is a prevalent health problem worldwide, and strongly associated with detrimental outcomes including premature mortality, functional impairments, re-hospitalization, depression, cognitive decline, and dementia. For many older adults, primary care providers are their only point of social contact, and therefore in a vital position to initiate services to address loneliness; however, loneliness is underassessed and undertreated due to appointment time constraints. The Liberating Loneliness program was created to fill this gap by providing an evidence-informed and client-…