TROY CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN portrait
  • Adjunct Associate Professor, School Of Medicine-Operations
  • Associate Professor (Lecturer), College Of Social Work
801-587-5354

Research Statement

Older adults are a growing demographic in our society and this population has the most complex health and mental health interaction across the lifespan.  Individuals with dementia are particularly vulnerable.  My research seeks to address the complex needs of individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and their caregivers.  Current projects include developing an app that will help guide caregivers of individuals with dementia through the labyrinth of medical and psychosocial interventions.  Another project that I am working on with colleagues from the College of Nursing seeks to identify individuals at risk of complicated grief as their love one with dementia nears end of life.  My research efforts seeks to address direct practice challenges in the care of vulnerable older adults.  

Research Keywords

  • grief, complicated grief, end-of-life care, group therapy, interdisciplinary care, geriatric social work, palliative care social work.
  • Interprofessional Education
  • Alzheimer's and Related Dementias

Presentations

  • Supiano, K.P., Andersen, T. C., Bradbury, L., & Ponce Gonzalez, K. (2023). Engaging with Nursing Home Social Workers to Develop and Implement Clinical Intervention Training. Symposium “Using Community Engagement to Develop, Test, and Implement Interventions for Dementia Care Partners” (J. Eaton, Chair) Presented at the annual Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America. Tampa, FL. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 11/10/2023.
  • Training nursing home social workers in the Pre-loss Group Support Intervention. AAIC Amsterdam, Netherlands . Poster, Presented, 07/17/2023.
  • Pre-loss Grief Support: Preparing dementia family caregivers for the death of their person living with dementia in a nursing home: A social work intervention Presented at SWHPN Conference Denver CO. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 04/24/2023.
  • Holding the Liminal Space: Balancing Uncertainty and Rejuvenation. Keynote Address: Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network Annual Summit. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 04/28/2022.
  • Pre-Loss Therapy for Family Caregivers of Persons with Dementia; Translation into Practice . Presentation, Presented, 11/12/2020.
  • Supiano, K. P., Luptak, M. K., Andersen, T. C., & Beynon, C. “If We Knew Then What We Know Now: The Preparedness Experience PreLoss and Post- Loss for Dementia Caregivers.” Gerontological Society of America's 70th Annual Scientific Meeting, Boston, MA. 11/2018. Poster, Presented, 11/19/2018.
  • Supiano, K. P., Luptak, M., Andersen, T. C., Beynon, C. Yeon, J., Iacob, E., Wong, B. “Assessing Preparedness for Death and Grief in Bereaved and Soon-To-Be Bereaved Dementia Family Caregivers.” Alzheimer’s Association International Conference. Chicago, IL 7/2018. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 07/19/2018.
  • Andersen, T.C. Proactive dementia care: Early interventions with persons with dementia and their caregivers. IAGG World Conference, San Francisco, CA, July 24-27, 2017. Poster, Presented, 07/25/2017.
  • Transforming the Meaning of Loss: Complicated Grief Group Therapy with Bereaved Dementia Caregivers. Poster presentation - refereed - by K Supiano, L Haynes, T Andersen, & M Luptak @ Gerontological Society of America 69th Annual Scientific Meeting, New Orleans, LA, . Poster, Presented, 11/18/2016.
  • Social Work Research on Older Adults with Dementia and Their Family Members: International Comparative Perspective. Presentation, Presented, 10/09/2016.
  • Andersen, T.C. Telehealth Enhanced Collaborative Geriatric Care (ProTEC), Evaluation of Cognitive Assessment Consultation Protocol of Rural Dwelling Older Veterans. Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, Toronto, Canada. Poster, Presented, 07/21/2016.
  • Supiano, K. P., Farrell, T. W., Brunker, C., Wong, B. Luptak, M., Andersen, T.C, Wilby, F. & Yang, R. “The Relationship Between Interprofessional Team Process and Quality of Care Transition Plans.” The Gerontological Society of America's 68th Annual Scientific Meeting, Orlando, FL, November 18-22, 2015. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 11/19/2015.
  • Andersen, T. C. Questioning the Paradigm: Is Aging in Place the Optimal Choice for Older Adults with Neurocognitive Disorders? Symposium presentation at The Gerontological Society of America's 68th Annual Scientific Meeting, Orlando, FL, November 18-22, 2015. Presentation, Presented, 11/19/2015.
  • Andersen, T. C. Proactive Dementia Care: A Three Year Pilot Study Examining Early Psychosocial Interventions with Individuals with Dementia and Their Caregivers Poster presentation at The Gerontological Society of America's 67th Annual Scientific Meeting, Washington DC, November, 5-9, 2014. Poster, Presented, 11/06/2014.
  • Andersen, T.C. Proactive Dementia Care: Findings and Lessons Learned From A Pilot Study Examining An Early-Stage Care-Planning Intervention At The Time of Diagnosis. Alzheimer’s Association International Conference. Copenhagen, Denmark. Presentation, Presented, 07/16/2014.

Grants, Contracts & Research Gifts

  • Group Therapy for Dementia Caregivers at Risk for Complicated Grief. PI: Katherine Supiano. 09/01/2017 - present. Total project budget to date: $150,000.00
  • Interprofessional Student Hotspotting Learning Collaborative – Hotspotting Hub Application. PI: Tim Farrell. 08/28/2017 - present. Total project budget to date: $50,000.00
  • SBIR grant: MEMORY CARE PARTNER: Portable Proactive and Preventative Planning Application for Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders. PI: Norman Foster. Co-PI(s): Troy Anderse. 06/01/2016 - present. Total project budget to date: $1,400,000.00

Geographical Regions of Interest

  • Japan

Publications

  • Supiano, Katherine, Troy Andersen, Laura Bradbury & Kimberly Ponce Gonzalez (2023). ENGAGING WITH NURSING HOME SOCIAL WORKERS TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT CLINICAL INTERVENTION TRAINING,. Innovations in Aging. Vol. 7, 47-48. Published, 12/01/2023.
    https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igad104.0156
  • Supiano, K.P. , Andersen, T, Luptak, M, Beynon, C, Iacob, E & Levitt, S. E. (2021). Pre Loss Group Therapy for Dementia Family Care Partners at Risk for Complicated Grief. Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions. Vol. 7. Published, 05/13/2021.
    https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34027022/
  • Dassel, K. B, (2020). Geriatrics workforce enhancement program: Educational outcomes of community-based dementia caregiver conferences. Educational Gerontology,. Published, 09/23/2020.
  • Supiano, K. & Luptak, M., Beynon, C., Iacob, E., & Wong, B. (2020). ). If We Knew Then What We Know Now: The Preparedness Experience of Pre-loss and Post-loss Dementia Caregivers. Death Studies. Published, 02/24/2020.
  • Jensen, E., & Jensen, E., Supiano, K, P. Luptak, M. & Beynon, (2020). Resilience In Bereaved Dementia Caregivers. Journal of Gerontological Nursing. Vol. 46, 30-36. Published, 01/01/2020.
  • Jensen, E.J. , Supiano, K, Luptak, M., Andersen, T. & Beynon, C (2019). Resilience in bereaved caregivers of persons with dementia. Gerontological Nursing. Vol. 46, 30-36. Published, 10/22/2019.
  • Jensen, Ellie & K. Supiano, M. Luptak, C. Beynon (2019). Resilience In Bereaved Dementia Caregivers. Journal of Gerontological Nursing,. Vol. 46, 30-36. Published, 08/09/2019.
  • Troy Andersen (2019). Aging. (pp. 85-97). Sage. Published, 01/01/2019.
  • Tim Farrell (2017). Individual versus team performance among health professions trainees in formulating care transitions plans: implications for interprofessional education and team process. Journal of Interprofessional Care. Published, 11/28/2017.
  • Andersen, T.C. (2016) Intellectual Health in Frost, C., Digre, K. 7 Domains of Women's Health: Multidisciplinary Considerations of Women's Health in the 21st Century. KendallHunt Publishing Co. USA. Published, 08/01/2016.
  • Kaplan, D., Andersen, T.C., Lehning, A. J., & Perry, T.E. (2015) Aging in Place vs. Relocation for Older Adults with Neurocognitive Disorder: Applications of Wiseman’s Behavioral Model, Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 58:5, 521-538, DOI: 10.1080/01634372.2015.1052175. Published, 05/27/2016.
  • Supiano, K.P., Andersen, T. C., & Burns Haynes, L. (2015) Sudden-On-Chronic Death and Complicated Grief in Bereaved Dementia Caregivers: Two Case Studies of Complicated Grief Group Therapy, Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life & Palliative Care, 11:3-4, 267-282. Published, 12/01/2015.
  • Kaplan, D., Andersen, T. C. (2013) Social work practice in dementia care: An historical review and new directions for the 21st century. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 56, 164-176. Published, 01/25/2015.
  • Perry, T., Andersen, T. C., Kaplan, D., (2014) Relocation remembered: perspectives on senior transitions in the living environment. The Gerontologist, published online July 9, 2013 doi:10.1093/geront/gnt070. Published, 05/28/2013.