Support Program to Reduce Depression and Increase Social Engagement for Older Adults Leaving Adult Protective Services

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating an 8-week social engagement program designed to reduce depression and increase social interaction among seniors transitioning out of Adult Protective Services APS due to elder abuse or self-neglect. The goal is to test if this stepped-care program is feasible and effective for improving mental health and social support in this vulnerable population. The study compares two groups one receiving the stepped-care social and mental health engagement where college students make weekly hour-long calls to older adults, assessing mental health symptoms and offering counseling referrals if needed and the usual APS care group, which receives phone calls for data collection followed by a shorter 6-week version of the engagement program. Participants in the usual care group may continue calls if mutually agreed. Participants will be involved in weekly phone calls for 8 weeks with assessments of depression, anxiety, loneliness, social support, resilience, and recurrence of elder mistreatment or self-neglect. Questionnaires like the Duke Social Support Index, UCLA Loneliness Scale, PHQ-9, and GAD-7 are used at the start, 4-week, and 8-week marks. Researchers monitor mental health changes and safety outcomes up to one month after the final call. The study is randomized and includes adults aged 65 and older.

Improving Adult Protective Services Client Outcomes: A Stepped-Care Social and Mental Health Engagement Program