Healthy Aging Research & Technology (HART)
Health Core ⟩
The mission of the Healthy Aging Research & Technology (HART) Lab is to promote older adult wellness by investigating interventions — with special emphasis on application of cutting-edge technology — designed to support healthful, meaningful activity participation in later life. Under the direction of Dr. Stacey Schepens Niemiec, HART Lab research features highly interdisciplinary team science, bringing together collaborators from a diverse array of fields such as engineering, social work, gerontechnology, and business. HART Lab personnel engage in community-based participatory research, working closely with older adult stakeholders and community partners to identify means of enhancing the quality of life and well-being of older people. Research activities in the HART Lab have ranged from building a comprehensive physical activity-targeted smartphone application for underactive older people with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, to developing a culturally tailored lifestyle intervention for late-midlife Latino adults.
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Active projects
Health Core ⟩
This project employs a community-based participatory research approach with Visión y Copmpromiso to optimize the ¡Vivir Mi Vida! lifestyle intervention for older rural-living Latinos in the Coachella Valley of California.
Period: Jul 2024 – May 2025
Private Funding
$122,504
Health Core ⟩
The aims of this study are to co-develop a lifestyle-based occupational therapy intervention to address self-management for people who have been prescribed diabetic foot ulcer offloading.
Period: Apr 2024 – Mar 2025
Intramural Funding
$124,999
Health Core ⟩
National Institutes of Health – National Institute on Aging (NIA), Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) FitSitt is an innovative device tailored to older adults that increases the convenience of breaking up sedentary activity and incorporating physical activity into in-home daily…
Period: Aug 2021 – Jul 2024
Federal Funding
$98,827 (subcontract)
Completed projects
Health Core ⟩
Despite the health benefits of physical activity (PA), less than 10% of older adults meet national PA guidelines. Barriers to PA range from low self-efficacy and feeling “too old,” to limited social support. Health-related smartphone applications (apps), which are now being used to improve…
Period: Sep 2017 – May 2022
Federal Funding
$844,572
Health Core ⟩
This study is examining the feasibility of implementing an occupational therapy intervention addressing diabetes management in a primary care clinic within the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (LAC-DHS), as well as the impact of this intervention approach on clinical outcomes,…
Period: Jul 2017 – Dec 2018
Intramural Funding
$74,375
In the Media