Developing the Next Generation of Researchers in Emerging Fields: Case Study of a Multisite Postdoctoral Research Training Program

Abstract

The aging of the U.S. population has been described as an approaching “demographic tsunami” that will challenge the capacity of an underdeveloped geriatric mental health service delivery system (1, 2). Despite a growing evidence-base of effective treatments for geriatric mental disorders (3–7), older adults have inadequate access to needed services (8–12) and are more likely to receive low-quality care (10–15), leading to excess morbidity, disability, and institutionalization (11–18). Older adults with mental disorders, including psychiatric illness and cognitive-impairment disorders, are associated with the highest per-person expenditures among the high-cost “dually eligible” Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries (19). A major impediment to addressing these challenges is a lack of geriatric mental health services researchers with the necessary skills to bridge the gap between findings from research and “real-world” service delivery (20, 21). Further complicating this challenge, no single research setting has the sufficient depth or breadth of expertise to provide training that effectively spans the large array of skill-sets that comprise this developing field. In response to the need to develop the field, we created a multisite, interdisciplinary research training program, linking leading geriatric mental health research institutions with web-based technology to provide a comprehensive program with diverse expertise and mentoring capacity. Distinct characteristics of the program include 1) a multisite, coordinated postdoctoral training program; 2) cross-site mentoring and training in relevant research methods and career-development strategies; 3) a core biweekly seminar of ongoing research; 4) cross-site peer review of manuscripts and grant proposals; and 5) site-specific seminars and degree programs.