Mark E. Kunik
YOU?
Author Swipe
Social Participation and Psychological Well-Being Among Older Adults With Dementia Open
The positive physical, mental, and cognitive health effects of social participation in late life have been well established. However, the facilitators and barriers of social participation among older adults with dementia and the effects of…
The words community dwelling, Spanish preferring Hispanic/Latino adults use to talk about Alzheimer’s disease and genetic testing: Implications for education and outreach Open
INTRODUCTION Hispanic/Latino (H/L) adults are more likely than non-Hispanic white adults to have Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but fewer than 1 in 5 H/L adults has APOE ε4. H/L adults are underrepresented in AD research studies and trials, whi…
Life Review Intervention Delivered by Family Caregivers of People Living with Dementia Improves Depression: A Mixed-Methods Study Open
Background and Objectives The prevalence of depression in people living with dementia is 40% in the United States. However, since pharmacological treatments tend to produce undesirable side effects, we developed a nonpharmacological, innov…
View article: ADAPTATION OF GAMEPLAN4CARE FOR HOSPITAL CARE AND CARE TRANSITIONS
ADAPTATION OF GAMEPLAN4CARE FOR HOSPITAL CARE AND CARE TRANSITIONS Open
Adults with dementia rely on family caregivers after hospital discharge. Increased caregiver stress following discharge may lead to worse outcomes for caregivers and adults with dementia. Our aim was to adapt GamePlan4Care, a community-bas…
View article: Needs of family caregivers of hospitalised adults with dementia during care transitions: a qualitative study in a US Department of Veterans Affairs Hospital
Needs of family caregivers of hospitalised adults with dementia during care transitions: a qualitative study in a US Department of Veterans Affairs Hospital Open
Objective To identify the needs of caregivers of hospitalised adults with dementia in the hospital and during care transitions. Design Pragmatic qualitative inquiry with semi-structured interviews. Setting Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affai…
The influence of patient, provider, and system level characteristics on anxiety diagnostic specificity in the Veterans Health Administration Open
This retrospective study sought to identify patient-, provider-, and system-level characteristics associated with anxiety diagnostic specificity in mental health clinics in the Veterans Health Administration. It used administrative data ex…
Increasing access to behavioral health care: Examples of task shifting in two U.S. government health care systems. Open
Expanding task-shifting paradigms as the Defense Health Agency and Veterans Health Administration have done may be vital to reaching more people who could benefit from BH intervention and prevention strategies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c…
FEASIBILITY AND EFFICACY OF LIFE REVIEW DEPRESSION INTERVENTION BY VIDEO-TRAINED FAMILY CAREGIVERS Open
Due to the high prevalence of depressive symptoms and dementia in older Americans, we developed a six-week virtual depression intervention, Caregiver-Provided Life Review (C-PLR) for care recipients (CRs) with early-stage dementia and mild…
UNMET NEEDS OF CAREGIVERS OF HOSPITALIZED VETERANS LIVING WITH DEMENTIA: A QUALITATIVE STUDY Open
Family caregivers are essential to safe care transitions for hospitalized adults living with dementia. We aimed to identify resource and training needs of dementia caregivers during care transitions. We conducted semi-structured interviews…
Depressive Symptoms are Associated With C-Reactive Protein in Older Adults With Obesity Open
Objectives To test the hypothesis that depressive symptoms vary with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), among older adults with obesity. Methods This was a cross-sectional, secondary analysis of baseline data from two related li…
The efficacy of tobacco cessation treatment for African American adults: a systematic review Open
Despite proliferation of evidence-based tobacco cessation treatments, African American adults still suffer higher rates of tobacco-related diseases than White adults. Although tobacco cessation treatment is efficacious, there is a need to …
View article: A boot camp translation of Alzheimer's disease in Hispanic/Latino communities
A boot camp translation of Alzheimer's disease in Hispanic/Latino communities Open
Introduction Hispanics/Latinos (H/Ls) are significantly underrepresented in Alzheimer's disease (AD) research participant samples. This exclusion limits our interpretation of research findings and understanding of the causes of brain healt…
Unmet Needs and Coping Strategies of Older Underserved Veterans During the COVID-19 Pandemic Open
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound impacts on people with diabetes, a group with high morbidity and mortality. Factors like race, age, income, Veteran-status, and limited or interrupted resources early in the COVID-19 pan…
Sentiment Analysis of Insomnia-Related Tweets via a Combination of Transformers Using Dempster-Shafer Theory: Pre– and Peri–COVID-19 Pandemic Retrospective Study Open
Background The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed additional stress on population health that may result in a change of sleeping behavior. Objective In this study, we hypothesized that using natural language processing to explore social media w…
View article: Smart-Home Concept for Remote Monitoring of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) in Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment: A Proof of Concept and Feasibility Study
Smart-Home Concept for Remote Monitoring of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) in Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment: A Proof of Concept and Feasibility Study Open
Assessment of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) is essential for the diagnosis and staging of dementia. However, current IADL assessments are subjective and cannot be administered remotely. We proposed a smart-home design, cal…
Associations Between Changes in Depression/Anxiety Symptoms and Fall Worry Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults Open
Using the 2019 and 2020 National Health and Aging Trend Study, we examined the association between fall worry and changes in depression/anxiety symptoms among community-dwelling older adults age 70+ ( N = 3333). Past-month fall worry in 20…
Leveraging the ExpandNet framework and operational partnerships to scale-up brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in VA primary care clinics Open
Evidence-based psychotherapies (EBPs) are underused in health care settings. Aligning implementation of EBPs with the needs of health care leaders (i.e., operational stakeholders) can potentially accelerate their uptake into routine practi…
Supplementary Material for: Care4AD: A Technology-Driven Platform for Care Coordination and Management: Acceptability Study in Dementia Open
Introduction: The technology-driven solution can reduce the caregiving burden; however, the needs of dementia caregiving are unique, and attitudes towards adopting technology from the perspectives of all the stakeholders involved in dement…
Connecting the Dots: Pain Mental Models of Spousal Caregivers of Veterans with Dementia and Pain Open
Pain is prevalent among persons with dementia (PWDs), yet often goes underrecognized and undertreated. Exploring caregivers’ pain mental models may provide valuable insight into how they conceptualize pain, and how such conceptualizations …
Using Natural Language Processing to Assess the Psychological Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on Insomnia via Tweets: A Pre-Post Retrospective Pilot Study (Preprint) Open
BACKGROUND The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed additional stress on population health that may result in a higher incidence of insomnia. In this study, we hypothesized that using natural language processing (NLP) to explore social media woul…
Digital Biomarkers of Cognitive Frailty: The Value of Detailed Gait Assessment Beyond Gait Speed Open
Background: Cognitive frailty (CF), defined as the simultaneous presence of cognitive impairment and physical frailty, is a clinical symptom in early-stage dementia with promise in assessing the risk of dementia. The purpose of this study …
View article: Decrease in Mobility during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Association with Increase in Depression among Older Adults: A Longitudinal Remote Mobility Monitoring Using a Wearable Sensor
Decrease in Mobility during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Association with Increase in Depression among Older Adults: A Longitudinal Remote Mobility Monitoring Using a Wearable Sensor Open
Background: Social isolation during COVID-19 may negatively impact older adults’ wellbeing. To assess its impact, we measured changes in physical activity and sleep among community-dwelling older adults, from pre-to post-pandemic declarati…
Testing the Impact of a Collaborative, Goal-Setting, and Behavioral Telehealth Intervention on Diabetes Distress: A Randomized Clinical Trial Open
Background:Diabetes distress is underrecognized and associated with poor outcomes. This study tested whether a 12-month collaborative, goal-setting, and behavioral telehealth intervention reduced diabetes distress levels.Methods:This is a …