Research Keywords

• long term care, aging, nursing homes.
• Telehealth
• Population-Based Studies
• Palliative Care
• Geriatric Mental Health
• Family Caregiving
• Community Engaged Research
• Alzheimer's and Related Dementias

Presentations

• American Geriatrics Society Annual Scientific Meeting (virtual). "Older Adults with Heart Failure and COPD in the Last 2 Years of Life and their Family Caregivers: A Population-based Analysis." Presidential ePoster . Conference Paper, Refereed, Accepted, 09/2023.
• Western Institute of Nursing Research Annual Conference. "Death with and without Dementia: Impact on Family Antidepressant Prescriptions." (Lead author: E. Iacob). Poster, Presented, 04/2024.
• AAHPM State of the Science in Hospice and Palliative Care Annual Conference. "Mortality Risk Following End-of-Life Caregiving: A Population-Based Analysis of Hospice Users and Their Families." (Lead author: M. Hollingshaus). Poster, Presented, 03/2024.
• AAHPM State of the Science in Hospice and Palliative Care Annual Conference - RAPID Poster. "Dying with Dementia in a Nursing Home with and without Family: A Population-based Study." . Poster, Presented, 03/2024.
• AAHPM State of the Science in Hospice and Palliative Care Annual Conference - RAPID poster. "Death with and without Dementia: Impact on Family Antidepressant Prescriptions." Lead author: Iacob, E. Poster, Presented, 03/2024.
• Utah Geriatric Education Consortium ECHO Series (3-person invited lecture: Stephens, C., Farrell, T., Sanders, N.). “Reslience, Aging & What Matters Most”. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 03/2024.
• University of Utah NIH Data Science Day – Data Resources Discussion (invited speaker). Family Caregiving and End-of-Life. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 01/2024.
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)/Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health in Nursing Facilities – Behavioral Health Action Network (Cohorts 1-5). "Incorporating Behavioral Health and Substance Use Disorders into Individualized Assessment and Person-Centered Care". Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 01/2024.
• Gerontological Society of America Annual Scientific Meeting. "Dying with Dementia in Nursing Homes: A Population-based Perspective of Decedents and their Families." (symposium). Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 11/2023.
• Rocky Mountain Geriatrics Conference (3-person invited lecture: Stephens, C., Farrell, T., Sanders, N.). “Resilience: Theoretical Underpinnings and Practical Implications”. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 09/2023.
• Gerontological Society of America Annual Scientific Meeting. “Utilizing Population Data to Characterize Nursing Home Decedents and their Families at the End of Life”. (symposium). Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 11/2022.
• NIA/AFAR Paul B. Beeson Annual Meeting. “Geriatrics, Palliative Care & Telehealth: A Boundary Spanning Tale of Transitions”. (plenary). Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 11/2022.
• Great Plains Mountain Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) Consortium (invited speaker). “The Geriatric 4Ms: Towards Age Friendly Health Care in Nursing Homes – Mind & Mentation”. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 05/2022.
• American Geriatrics Society Annual Scientific Meeting. “What a Difference a Pandemic Makes! Nursing Home Stakeholder Telehealth Utilization & Perceptions During the Covid-19 Pandemic Informs Palliative Care Telehealth Intervention Development.”. Poster, Presented, 05/2022.
• American Geriatrics Society Annual Scientific Meeting. “Your heart goes black”: The Emotional Toll of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Nursing Home Staff. Poster, Presented, 05/2022.
• Great Plains Mountain Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) Consortium (invited speaker). “Person Centered Care – Optimizing Behavioral and Mental Health in Nursing Homes”. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 03/2022.
• GeriPal Podcast. Understanding the Variability in Care of Nursing Home Residents with Advanced Dementia. Expert panel interview with Stephens, C., Palan-Lopez, R., Carpenter, J., Hunt, L. https://bit.ly/GeriPalEp210 . Panel, Presented, 03/2022.
• National Hartford Center for Gerontological Nursing Excellence Annual International Leadership Conference. Stephens, C., Evans, L.E., Buckwalter, K. “Geropsychiatric Nursing Collaborative: History, Progress and Promises”. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 11/2021.
• NIA/AFAR Paul B. Beeson Annual Meeting. “Leveraging the Utah Population Database (UPDB) to Advance Family Caregiving Research.” . Presentation, Presented, 11/2021.
• "The invisible home-bound: Alaska Native/American Indian people receiving home-based medical care in Alaska". Data Blitz Presentation at the NINR Palliative Care Research Cooperative. Denver, CO. Primary presenter: Jennifer Shaw, PhD (mentee). Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 02/2020.
• "Improving Palliative Care Access Through Technology (ImPAcTT) in Nursing Homes: Preliminary Pilot Study Findings" American Geriatrics Society Annual Scientific Meeting . Conference Paper, Refereed, Accepted, 02/2020.
• A Gerontological Nurse Researcher's Boundary Spanning Journey through "Transitions". Luminary Lecture Interprofessional Continuing Education in Palliative Care, Mill Valley, CA. Invited Talk/Keynote, Presented, 06/2019.
• Assessing Technical Feasibility and Acceptability of Providing Telehealth Palliative Care in Nursing Homes. Data Blitz Presentation at the NINR Palliative Care Research Cooperative Meeting. Conference Paper, Refereed, Presented, 02/2019.

Grants, Contracts & Research Gifts

• Population Science Informs Rural Nursing Home (NH) Resident & Caregiver Health Initiatives. PI: Stephens. The Donaghue Foundation, 01/01/2024 - 12/31/2025. Total project budget to date: $0.00
• 1U for Population-based Caregiving Science: Strengthening Partnerships, Leveraging Expertise, and Building the Pipeline of Population-based Caregiving Research. PI: Stephens. Co-PI(s): R. Utz, D. Tay, K. Smith. Consortium for Families and Health Research (C-FAHR) Innovations Award , 06/01/2021 - 06/30/2023. Total project budget to date: $0.00
• Care Trajectories of Utah Nursing Home Residents at End of Life & of their Family Caregivers: A Population-based Pilot Study. PI: Stephens. University of Utah Center on Aging/Family Caregiving Collaborative Pilot Grant, 09/01/2021 - 06/30/2023. Total project budget to date: $0.00
• Improving Palliative Care Access Through Technology (ImPAcTT): A Multi-Component Pilot Study. PI: Caroline Stephens. NIA/AFAR K76 Paul B. Beeson Leadership Career Development Award, 08/15/2017 - 06/30/2023. Total project budget to date: $1,207,181.00
• An exploration of palliative care experiences, preferences, and needs among Alaska Native/American Indian people in a home-based medical care program. PI: Shaw (Stephens Co-I/mentor). NINR Palliative Care Research Cooperative, 07/01/2019 - 06/30/2022. Total project budget to date: $0.00
• State of the Future in Global Aging, Dementia & Mental Health: Bridging Leadership, Science, Practice and Policy. PI: Caroline Stephens. NIA R13, 07/01/2017 - 06/30/2019. Total project budget to date: $40,000.00

Publications

• Hollingshaus, M., Smith, K., Meeks, H., Ornstein, K., Iacob, E., Tay, D., Stephens, C.E. & Utz, R. (2024). Mortality Risk Following End-of-Life Caregiving: A Population-Based Analysis of Hospice Users and Their Families. Social Science & Medicine. Accepted, 03/2024.
• Allison, T.A., Stephens, C.E. & Kotwal, A.A. (2024). Supporting Technology Access for Older Adults though In-Home, Intergenerational Involvement: The Case for Ethnographic Methods and Student Service-Learning Courses. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Accepted, 02/2024.
• Stephens, C.E., Utz, R., Tay, D., +Iacob, E., Hollingshaus, M., Goodwin, R., Farrell, T.W., Bouldin, E., Edelman, L., Reinke, L.F., Smith, K., Ellington, L., Ornstein, K. (2024). Dying with Dementia in Nursing Homes: A Population-based Study of Decedents and their Families. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Feb 2. doi: 10.1111/jgs.18770. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38308399. Published, 02/2024.
• Stephens CE, Tay D, Iacob E, Hollinghaus M & Goodwin R (2023). Family Ties at End-of-Life: Characteristics of Nursing Home Decedents With and Without Family. Palliative medicine reports. Vol. 4, 308315308-315. Published, 12/01/2023.
• Goodwin, R., Utz, R., Elmore, C., Ornstein, K., Tay, D., Ellington, L., Smith, K. & Stephens, C. (2023). Leveraging Existing Datasets to Advance Family Caregiving Research: Opportunities to Measure What Matters. Journal of Aging & Social Policy. Accepted, 11/2023.
• Kang, Y., Stoddard, G., Stehlik, J., Stephens, C.E., Facelli, J. & Gouripeddi, R. (2023). Developing 60-day readmission risk score among home healthcare patients with heart failure. Home Healtcare Now. Vol. 42(1), 42-51. Published, 10/2023.
• Kelly BC, Hanson HA, Utz RL, Hollingshaus MS & Meeks H (2023). Disparities and determinants of place of death: Insights from the Utah Population Database. Death studies. 1131-13. Published, 09/01/2023.
• Coaston, A., Lee, S.J., Johnson, J., Weiss, S, Hoffmann, T. & Stephens, C. (2023). Factors Associated with Mobile Medical Clinic Use: A Retrospective Cohort Study. International Journal for Equity in Health. Vol. 22(1). Published, 09/2023.
• Stephens, C.E., Allison, T.A., Wertz, V., Halifax, E., Flint, L., David, D., Lee, S. & Ritchie, C.R. (2022). Assessing the Technical Feasibility of Providing Telehealth Palliative Care in Nursing Homes. Palliative Medicine Reports. Vol. 3(1), 181-185. Published, 08/2022.
• Farrell, T., Towsley, G.L., Eaton, J., Supiano, K.P., Stephens, C.E., Witt, C., Nelson, N. & Edelman, L. (2022). The Development and Validation of a Communication Survey Instrument for Long Term Care Staff. Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing. Vol. 53(3), 123-130. Published, 07/2022.
• Farrell TW, Butler JM, Towsley GL & Telonidis JS (2022). Communication Disparities between Nursing Home Team Members. International journal of environmental research and public health. Vol. 19. Published, 05/01/2022.
• Coaston, A., Lee, S.J., Johnson, J., Hardy-Peterson, M.H., Weiss, S. & Stephens, C. (2022). Mobile Medical Clinics in the United States Post-ACA: An Integrative Review. Population Health Management. Vol. 25(2), 264-279. Published, 04/2022.
• Ersek M, Unroe KT, Carpenter JG, Stephens, C.E., Cagle, J.G. & Stevenson, D.G. (2022). High-Quality Nursing Home and Palliative Care-One and the Same. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association. Vol. 23(2), 247-252. Published, 03/01/2022.
• Stephens, C.E., Diaz, M. & Wagner, L.M. (2021). Long Term Services and Supports Policy Issues. In D.J. Mason, A. Perez, M. McLemore, E. Dickson (Eds.), Policy & Politics in Nursing and Healthcare (8th ed.). Elsevier.. Published, 10/2021.
• Linnen DT, Hu, X & Stephens, C. (2021). Postimplementation Evaluation of a Machine Learning-Based Deterioration Risk Alert to Enhance Sepsis Outcome Improvements. Nursing administration quarterly. Vol. 44(4). Published, 09/01/2021.
• Tay, D., Ornstein, K.A., Meeks, H., Utz, R., Smith, K.R., Stephens, C., Hashibe, M. & Ellington, L. (2021). Evaluation of Family Characteristics and Multiple Hospitalizations at the End of Life: Evidence from the Utah Population Database. Journal of Palliative Medicine. Published, 08/27/2021.
• Stephens CE, Massimo L, Harris, M., Evans, L.E. & Buckwalter, K. (2021). Advances in geropsychiatric nursing: A decade in review. Archives of psychiatric nursing. Vol. 34, 281287281-287. Published, 06/01/2021.
• Stephens, C.E. & Kim, C. (2020). Confusion in the Elderly: Common Clinical Questions. In L. Walter, and A. Chang (Eds.), Current Geriatrics Diagnosis & Treatment (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.. Published, 09/2020.
• Linnen DT, Escobar GJ & Hu X (2020). Statistical Modeling and Aggregate-Weighted Scoring Systems in Prediction of Mortality and ICU Transfer: A Systematic Review. Journal of hospital medicine. Vol. 14, 161169161-169. Published, 07/01/2020.
• Farrell TW, Ferrante LE, Brown T, Francis L, Widera E, Rhodes R & Rosen T (2020). AGS Position Statement: Resource Allocation Strategies and Age-Related Considerations in the COVID-19 Era and Beyond. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Vol. 68, 113611421136-1142. Published, 07/01/2020.
• Farrell TW, Francis L, Brown T, Ferrante LE, Widera E, Rhodes R & Rosen T (2020). Rationing Limited Healthcare Resources in the COVID-19 Era and Beyond: Ethical Considerations Regarding Older Adults. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Vol. 68, 114311491143-1149. Published, 07/01/2020.
• Halifax E, Bui NM, Hunt LJ & Stephens CE (2020). Transitioning to Life in a Nursing Home: The Potential Role of Palliative Care. Journal of palliative care. 825859720904802. Published, 02/01/2020.
• Oh A, Patel K, Boscardin WJ, Max W, Stephens C, Ritchie CS & Smith AK (2020). Social Support and Patterns of Institutionalization Among Older Adults: A Longitudinal Study. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Vol. 67, 2622-2627. Published, 01/01/2020.
• Hunt LJ, Stephens CE & Smith AK (2019). Palliative Care in the Nursing Home-Shifting Paradigms. JAMA internal medicine. 1-2. Published, 11/11/2019.
• Coombs LA & Stephens C (2019). Identifying the Contribution of Nurse Practitioners in the Care of Older Adults With Cancer. Oncology nursing forum. Vol. 46, 277-282. Published, 11/01/2019.
• Bui, N., Halifax, E., David, D., Hunt, L., Uy, E., Ritchie, C., Stephens, C. Understanding Nursing Home Staff Attitudes Towards Death & Dying. American Journal of Nursing,. Published, 10/01/2019.
• Coombs LA, Max W, Kolevska T, Tonner C & Stephens C (2019). Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants: An Underestimated Workforce for Older Adults with Cancer. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Vol. 67, 1489-1494. Published, 07/01/2019.
• Linnen DT, Escobar GJ, Hu X, Scruth E, Liu V & Stephens C (2019). Statistical Modeling and Aggregate-Weighted Scoring Systems in Prediction of Mortality and ICU Transfer: A Systematic Review. Journal of hospital medicine. Vol. 14, 161-169. Published, 06/01/2019.
• Stephens CE, Halifax E, David D, Bui N, Lee SJ, Shim J & Ritchie CS (2019). "They Don't Trust Us": The Influence of Perceptions of Inadequate Nursing Home Care on Emergency Department Transfers and the Potential Role for Telehealth. Clinical nursing research. Vol. 29, 157-168. Published, 04/21/2019.
• Hunt LJ, Ritchie CS, Cataldo JK, Patel K, Stephens CE & Smith AK (2018). Pain and Emergency Department Use in the Last Month of Life Among Older Adults With Dementia. Journal of pain and symptom management. Vol. 56, 871-877.e7. Published, 12/01/2018.
• Hunt LJ, Coombs LA & Stephens CE (2018). Emergency Department Use by Community-Dwelling Individuals With Dementia in the United States: An Integrative Review. Journal of gerontological nursing. Vol. 44, 23-30. Published, 09/01/2018.
• Stephens CE, Evans LK, Bradway C & Buckwalter K (2018). Challenges in Aging, Dementia, and Mental Health: New Knowledge and Energy to Inform Solutions. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Vol. 66 Suppl 1, S1-S3. Published, 04/01/2018.
• Linnen DT, Kornak J & Stephens C (2018). The Rural Inpatient Mortality Study: Does Urban-Rural County Classification Predict Hospital Mortality in California?. The Permanente journal. Vol. 22, 17-078. Published, 03/28/2018.
• Stephens CE, Hunt LJ, Bui N, Halifax E, Ritchie CS & Lee SJ (2017). Palliative Care Eligibility, Symptom Burden, and Quality-of-Life Ratings in Nursing Home Residents. JAMA internal medicine. Vol. 178, 141-142. Published, 11/20/2017.
• Harris M, Buron B & Stephens C (2017). Embracing the challenges in graduate geropsychiatric nursing education: Findings from a national survey. Journal of professional nursing : official journal of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Vol. 34, 221-225. Published, 09/09/2017.
• Hunt LJ, Covinsky KE, Yaffe K, Stephens CE, Miao Y, Boscardin WJ & Smith AK (2015). Pain in Community-Dwelling Older Adults with Dementia: Results from the National Health and Aging Trends Study. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Vol. 63, 1503-11. Published, 11/01/2015.
• Stephens C, Halifax E, Bui N, Lee SJ, Harrington C, Shim J & Ritchie C (2015). Provider Perspectives on the Influence of Family on Nursing Home Resident Transfers to the Emergency Department: Crises at the End of Life. Current gerontology and geriatrics research. Vol. 2015, 893062. Published, 09/01/2015.
• Stephens CE, Harris M & Buron B (2015). The Current State of U.S. Geropsychiatric Graduate Nursing Education: Results of the National Geropsychiatric Graduate Nursing Education Survey. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association. Vol. 21(6), 385-94. Published, 01/01/2015.
• Newman, J., Sudore, R., Stephens, C., Miller, BJ, Ritchie, C. (2015). Advance Care Planning: A Community-Based Initiative in San Francisco. SFMS Journal; 2015. Published, 01/01/2015.
• Stephens C., Sackett N., Govindarajan P. & Lee S. (2014). Emergency department visits and hospitalizations by tube-fed nursing home residents with varying degrees of cognitive impairment: A national study. Vol. 14. BMC Geriatrics. Published, 03/20/2014.
• Stephens C., Newcomer R., Blegen M., Miller B. & Harrington C. (2014). The effects of cognitive impairment on nursing home residents' emergency department visits and hospitalizations. (pp. 835-843). Vol. 10. Alzheimer's and Dementia. Published, 01/01/2014.
• Brownell, J. Wang, J., Maselli, J., Smith, A., Stephens, C., Hsia, R.Y. (2014). Trends in Emergency Department Visits for Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions by Elderly Nursing Home Residents, 2001-2009. JAMA IM,174(1): 156-8; ePub ahead of print Oct 28, 2013. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.11821. Published, 10/28/2013.
• Stephens, C., Sackett, N., Schopfer, D. , Schmajuk, G., Moy, N., Pierce, R., Bachhuber, M., Wallhagen, M. & Lee, SJ. (2013). Transitional Care Challenges of Rehospitalized Veterans: Listening to Patients and their Providers. Population Health Management. Published, 04/06/2013.
• Stephens C., Newcomer R., Blegen M., Miller B. & Harrington C. (2012). Emergency Department use by nursing home residents: Effect of severity of cognitive impairment. (pp. 383-393). Vol. 52. Gerontologist. Published, 06/01/2012.
• Naylor MD, Hirschman, KB, Bowles, KH, Bixby, B, Konick-McMahan, J & Stephens, C (2007). Care Coordination for Cognitively Impaired Older Adults and Their Caregivers . Home Health Care Services Quarterly. Vol. 26(4), 57-78. Published, 01/2007.
• Naylor MD, Stephens C., Bowles K. & Bixby B. (2005). Cognitively Impaired Older Adults: From Hospital to Home. American Journal of Nursing. Vol. 105(2), 40-49. Published, 01/2005.