The next NAPSA R2P (Research to Practice) Journal Club will be an important conversation with Dr. Karen A. Roberto on her study, Family Ties and Opioid Lies: Pathways to Elder Abuse in Rural Appalachia. This discussion will explore how opioid misuse, caregiving, family dynamics, and rural resource challenges intersect to create new risks for elder abuse, and what these findings mean for APS professionals and partners working to protect older adults.

Featured Speaker: Karen A. Roberto, Ph.D. is a University Distinguished Professor, founding Executive Director of the Institute for Society, Culture and Environment, and former director and current Senior Fellow at the Center for Gerontology at Virginia Tech. She holds secondary appointments in the Department of Internal Medicine and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. Her research focuses on health and social support in late life and includes studies of rural older women, dementia family caregiving, and elder abuse.

Whether you’re an APS professional, researcher, administrator, or policymaker, this conversation will provide valuable insight into the future of data-informed APS practice.