Addressing Senior Social Isolation in the Community

In this episode, Lauren & Matt talk to Brenda Roberts and Steven Barbieri from the National Council of Dementia Minds.The National Council of Dementia Minds is the first national not-for-profit organization founded and governed by people living with dementia. Its work focuses on education, advocacy, peer support, and changing public perception of what it means to live with dementia.Brenda and Steven talk about the National Council of Dementia Minds, the importance of peer support and education for people living with dementia. They focus on how better understanding the lived experiences of people living with dementia can help shape research, policy, and advocacy.The transcript for this episode can be found here.Links of InterestNational Council of Dementia MindsSteven A. Barbieri, Board President & FounderBrenda Roberts, Executive DirectorYou can listen on the Michigan Medicine podcasting network and other podcasting platforms such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify. This episode is also available on our CAPRA website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Lauren Gerlach and Matt Davis speak with Theresa Shireman, PhD, Director of the Center for Gerontology and Healthcare Research and a Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice, and Epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health. Dr. Shireman’s research focuses on pharmaceutical policy, pharmacoepidemiology, health services research, and medication use among vulnerable populations.Dr. Shireman discusses her recent study, “The Impact of Federal Antipsychotic Use Policy in Nursing Homes on New Diagnoses for Approved Indications in Dementia Residents,” published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. The study examines whether federal policies designed to reduce antipsychotic use in nursing homes were associated with increases in new diagnoses of conditions, such as schizophrenia, that exclude residents from publicly reported antipsychotic quality measures. Using an interrupted time-series design, the researchers examined changes following the 2012 National Partnership to Improve Dementia Care and the 2015 addition of antipsychotic use to the nursing home Five-Star Quality Rating System. They found that neither policy was associated with an increase in new exclusionary diagnoses, challenging concerns that nursing homes were increasingly assigning these diagnoses to circumvent restrictions on antipsychotic use.The conversation also explores the benefits and risks of antipsychotic medications for people living with dementia, including the potential for serious adverse effects such as sedation, falls, stroke, and increased mortality. Dr. Shireman discusses how public reporting and financial incentives can influence prescribing practices, the limitations of using a single quality measure to evaluate nursing home care, and the importance of balancing medication safety with residents’ individual needs. The discussion highlights the need for shared decision-making among clinicians, nursing home staff, residents, and families, as well as greater investment in staffing, resources, and nonpharmacological approaches to improve quality of life for people living with dementia.The transcript for this episode can be found here.Article Discussed in the Episode:Shireman TI, Coulibaly N, Zhang T, et al. Impact of federal antipsychotic use policy in nursing homes on new diagnoses for approved indications in dementia residents. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2024; 72(12): 3742-3752. doi:10.1111/jgs.19129You can listen on the Michigan Medicine podcasting network and other podcasting platforms such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify. This episode is also available on our CAPRA website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Lauren & Matt speak with Neguine Rezaii, MD, an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and a Board-Certified Neuropsychiatrist at Mass General Hospital. Dr. Rezaii’s research focuses on using natural language processing and artificial intelligence to improve the detection and classification of neurodegenerative disorders.Dr. Rezaii talks about her recent study, “Voiceprints of Cognitive Impairment: Analyzing Digital Voice for Early Detection of Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias,” which explores how artificial intelligence can analyze short speech samples to identify subtle signs of cognitive impairment. The study used speech recordings from 120 individuals and found that features such as pauses, word choice and the specificity of language can help distinguish cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease.The conversation also explores how a simple 30-second speech test could potentially be used in clinical settings to support earlier detection and monitoring of cognitive impairment, as well as the challenges and ethical considerations that come with using AI to analyze something as personal as a person’s voice.The transcript for this episode can be found here.Article Discussed in the Episode:Rezaii, N., Wong, B., Aisen, P. et al. Voiceprints of cognitive impairment: analyzing digital voice for early detection of Alzheimer’s and related dementias. npj Dement. 1, 35 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44400-025-00040-0 DOI; npj Dementia volume 1, Article number: 35 (2025)You can listen on the Michigan Medicine podcasting network and other podcasting platforms such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify. This episode is also available on our CAPRA website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Lauren & Matt speak with Neil Mehta, PhD who is the associate dean for research and a professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. Dr. Mehta’s research focuses on US life expectancy trends, the effects of obesity on disability and mortality, the sources of socioeconomic status disparities in mortality, and patterns of health in the United States and Europe.   Dr. Mehta talks about a recent manuscript from the NIA-funded TRENDS study called “Trends in Memory Function and Memory Impairment Among Older Adults in the United States and Europe, 1996 to 2018.”, which looks at data from several sources to compare trends in memory function across 13 different countries. The transcript for this episode can be found here. Neil Mehta, PhD Faculty Profile   Article Discussed in the Episode: Myrskylä M, Hale JM, Schneider DC, Mehta NK. Trends in Memory Function and Memory Impairment Among Older Adults in the United States and Europe, 1996-2018. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2024 Nov 7;79(21 Suppl 11):S11-S21. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glae154. PMID: 38953519; PMCID: PMC11542220. You can listen on the Michigan Medicine podcasting network and other podcasting platforms such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify. This episode is also available on our CAPRA website.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Season 6 of Minding Memory! In this episode, Lauren & Matt speak with Dr. Katherine (Kate) Possin, who holds the John Douglas French Alzheimer’s Foundation Professorship at the University of California, San Francisco Fein Memory & Aging Center.   Dr. Possin talks about the Care Ecosystem, a telephone and web-based model that provides ongoing education, support, care planning, and coordination for people living with dementia and their care partners. They’ll dig into how the Care Ecosystem was developed, and what studies have shown about its impact on people living with dementia.   The transcript for this episode can be found here.Katherine Possin, PhD Faculty ProfileThe Care Ecosystem at the UCSF Fein Memory & Aging Center  Article Discussed in the Episode:  Atkins KJ, Kahn JG, Possin KL. Cost-effectiveness and impact at Scale of Collaborative Care and Lecanemab for Alzheimer's Disease. Alzheimer's Dement. 2026; 2:e70054. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsa3.70054   You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Matt & Lauren build off their previous conversation with Ashwin Kotwal about social isolation by speaking with Eve Lefkowitz, the Executive Director of the non-profit organization, A Conversation to Remember, which connects older adults – including those who live with cognitive decline – with young adult college students to combat the epidemic of social isolation and loneliness.  Lauren & Matt learn about the populations this non-profit serve as well as perspectives on how to address social isolation with older adults.   Episode TranscriptResources:c2r.chat: Conversations to RememberYou can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we're going to discuss a topic that's increasingly recognized as central to cognitive health and social connection. We'll define what it is and what happens when it's missing. Social isolation and loneliness are now widely discussed as public health concerns, and evidence has really mounted that social disconnection has profound effects on health, including cognitive decline and dementia risk. To help us think through this, we're joined by Dr. Ashwin Kotwal, a geriatrician and health services researcher at UCSF and the director of the Social Connections and Aging Lab. His work examines how social relationships shape aging related outcomes, including cognitive health, disability, and mortality. The transcript for this episode can be found here.Additional Links:   Ashwin Kotwal Faculty Profile Social Connections & Aging Lab @ UCSF  Relevant Articles:  Kotwal AA, Cenzer IS, Yaffe K, Perissinotto C, Smith AK. End-of-life health care use among socially isolated and cognitively impaired older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2023 Mar;71(3):880-887. doi: 10.1111/jgs.18131. Epub 2022 Nov 23. PMID: 36420540; PMCID: PMC10023302.  Kotwal AA, Allison TA, Halim M, Garrett SB, Perissinotto CM, Ritchie CS, Smith AK, Harrison KL. "Relationships, Very Quickly, Turn to Nothing": Loneliness, Social Isolation, and Adaptation to Changing Social Lives Among Persons Living With Dementia and Care Partners. Gerontologist. 2024 Apr 1;64(4):gnae014. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnae014. PMID: 38499400; PMCID: PMC10948338.  Kotwal AA, Cenzer I, Hunt LJ, Ankuda C, Torres JM, Smith AK, Aldridge M, Harrison KL. Psychosocial distress among spouses of persons with dementia before and after their partner's death. J Am Geriatric Soc. 2024 Aug;72(8):2336-2346. doi: 10.1111/jgs.19030. Epub 2024 Jun 1. PMID: 38822746; PMCID: PMC11323186. You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Matt & Lauren speak with Kristine Ajrouch, PhD - a new member of our CAPRA leadership team. Kristine is a Research Professor at the Institute for Social Research whose work focuses on aging, health, immigration and family in the United Statues and the Middle East; social networks over the life course; and Arab American identity and well-being.  Kristine discusses a recent article that examined an intervention to improve outcomes among Arab American caregivers who provide care to a family member living with dementia. She also shares what this work teaches us about caregiving as a family system rather than the responsibility of a single individual.  The transcript for this episode can be found here. Link of Interest: Kristine Ajrouch Faculty Profile  Article referenced in podcast: Ajrouch KJ, Barada FM, Janevic MR, Antonucci TC. Supporting Arab-American Families Living With Dementia: Testing a Culturally Adapted Program. J Appl Gerontol. 2025 Apr;44(4):515-519. doi: 10.1177/07334648241281153. Epub 2024 Sep 23. PMID: 39313309. You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Minding Memory! In today’s episode, Lauren & Matt speak with Dr. Laura Zahodne – a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan and an affiliate of the Institute for Social Research. She's a clinical neuropsychologist by training and studies how psychosocial experiences shape late life, cognitive health, and risk of neurodegenerative disease.  Also, a new member of our CAPRA leadership team!    In this episode, we’ll get to know Laura a little better and talk with her about one of her research studies, the Neighborhood Racial Income Inequality in Cognitive Health, which looks at the association between racial income differences and a variety of cognitive measures. The transcript for this episode can be found here. Links of Interest:  Laura Zahodne Faculty Profile  Introduction to the Michigan Cognitive Aging Project  Articles Referenced in Podcast: Zahodne LB, Sol K, Scambray K, Lee JH, Palms JD, Morris EP, Taylor L, Ku V, Lesniak M, Melendez R, Elliott MR, Clarke PJ. Neighborhood racial income inequality and cognitive health. Alzheimers Dement. 2024 Aug;20(8):5338-5346. doi: 10.1002/alz.13911. Epub 2024 Jun 27. PMID: 38934219; PMCID: PMC11350017.  Hu Y, Elliott MR, Meier HCS, Chen L, Walters ME, Sol K, Zahodne LB. The impact of census-tract level mortgage discrimination on cognitive function: accounting for measurement instability in small-area data via joint modeling. Am J Epidemiol. 2025 Nov 4;194(11):3258-3266. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwaf131. PMID: 40522478; PMCID: PMC12634109.  You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In today’s episode, Matt and Lauren discuss the new CMS GUIDE model for dementia care with Dr. Brystana Kaufman, MSPH, PhD – a health services researcher at the Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy at Duke University. The GUIDE model aims to improve the quality of life for people living with dementia by reducing strain on caregivers and enabling individuals to remain in their homes.   Brystana talks with the Minding Memory team about a spectrum of topics as related to the GUIDE model including, what motivated CMS to develop and implement the model; what defines a serious illness; how the model supports caregivers; and what an organization needs to have in terms of services in order to participate in the implementation of the GUIDE model. Dr. Kaufman is the co-author of an article in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society titled “GUIDE Dementia Model: Opportunities for Serious Illness Care” which provides additional insight into the model.    Episode Transcript Brystana Kaufman, PhD, MSPH Faculty Profile  Article referenced in this episode:  Kaufman BG, Grant M. GUIDE dementia model: Opportunities for serious illness care. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2024 Jun;72(6):1935-1938. doi: 10.1111/jgs.18787. Epub 2024 Feb 5. PMID: 38315037.  Additional Resources:  Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model Health and Aging Policy Fellows You can subscribe to Minding Memory on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.