Faculty/Staff Steven M. Albert, PhD, MSPH, MA

 

Professor

Associate Chair for Research and Science

Graduate School of Public Health
A211 Crabtree Hall
Pittsburgh, PA 15261

Phone: 412-383-8693
Fax: 412-624-3792
E-mail: SMAlbert@pitt.edu

RESEARCH

My research centers on the assessment of health outcomes in aging and chronic disease, including physical and cognitive function, health service use and the cost of care, quality of life, and clinical decision making. Recent efforts include investigation of mental health and clinical decisions at the end of life (National Institute of Mental Health) and a study of the cognitive and physical basis of independence in older people (National Institute on Aging).  Current efforts include a study of worksite health promotion, modeling of vaccine refusal across the lifespan, and public health surveillance of the end of life.  I have completed research on attitudes toward health promotion in culturally insular communities, challenges in assessing quality of life in people with cognitive impairment, and cognitive factors in medication adherence.

Some of my broader interests involve international aging and a life-span approach to health in old age.

SERVICE

Editorial Board, Journal of American Medical Directors Association

Editorial Board, Internet Journal of Mental Health

Council, Gerontological Health Section, APHA, 2005–07

Editor, Newsletter, Association of Anthropology and Gerontology (AAGE), 2000–05

Editorial Board: Preventive Medicine, 2005–; Journal of Aging Studies, 2002–

Reviewer: Journal of Gerontology, The Gerontologist, American Journal of Public Health, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Neurology, Journal of Aging and Health, Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology

TEACHING

I teach courses on aging as a field of public health, the assessment of quality of life in health and aging, social dimensions of aging, and a public health approach to long-term care.

MOST RECENT PUBLICATIONS

  • Albert SM, Whitaker A, Rabkin JG, del Bene ML, Tider T, O’Sullivan I, Mitsumoto H. Medical and Supportive Care among People with ALS in the Months before Death or Tracheostomy. J Pain Symptom Management, 2009.
  • Albert SM, Bear-Lehman J, Burkhardt A. Lifestyle-adjusted function: Variation beyond BADL and IADL competencies. The Gerontologist 2009.
  • Albert SM, Musa D, Kwoh K, Silverman M. Defining optimal self-management in osteoarthritis: Racial differences in a population-based sample. J Cross-Cult Gerontology, 23: 349-360, 2008.
  • Albert SM, Musa D, Kwoh CK, Hanlon JT, Silverman M. Self-care and professionally-guided care in osteoarthritis: Racial differences in a population-based sample.  J Health Aging, 20(2) 198-216, 2008.
  • Albert SM, Wasner M, Tider T, Drory VE, Borasio GD. Cross-cultural variation in mental health at the end of life in patients with ALS.  Neurology 2007; 68: 1058-1061.
  • Albert SM, Bear-Lehman J, Burkhardt A. Disparities in ambient, standard lighting, and retinal acuities in community-dwelling elders: Implications for disability.  J Am Geriatrics Society 2006, 54: 1713-1718.
  • Albert SM, Bear-Lehman J, Burkhardt A, Merete-Roa B, Noboa-Lemonier R.  Variation in sources of clinician- and self-rated IADL disability.  J Gerontol: Med Sci, 61A: 826-831, 2006.
  • Bear-Lehman J, Albert SM, Burkhardt A, Merete-Roa B, Noboa-Lemonier R.Cutaneous sensitivity and functional limitation. Topics in Geriatric Rehabilitation 22(1): 61-69, 2006.
  • Scarmeas N, Albert SM, Manly JJ, Stern Y.  Education and rates of cognitive decline in incident Alzheimer’s disease.  Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry 77: 308-316, 2006.
  • Levine C, Albert SM, Hokenstad A, Halper D, Hart AY, Gould DA. ‘This case is closed’: The transition in family caregiving when home health care services end.  Milbank Quarterly, 84(2), 305-331, 2006.
  • Rabkin JG, Albert SM, Tider T, Del Bene ML, O’Sullivan I, Rowland LP, Mitsumoto H.  Predictors and course of elective long-term mechanical ventilation: A prospective study of ALS patients.  Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis & Other Motor Neuron Diseases, 7: 86-95, 2006.
  • Albert SM, Levine C. Family caregiver research and the HIPAA factor. The Gerontologist, 45: 432-437, 2005.
  • Rabkin JR, Albert SM, del Bene M, O'Sullivan I, Tider T, Rowland LP, Mitsumoto H. Prevalence of depressive disorders and change over time in late-stage ALS, Neurology, 62: 62-67, 2005.
  • Albert SM, Rabkin JR, del Bene M, O'Sullivan I, Tider T, Rowland LP, Mitsumoto H. Wish to die in end-stage ALS, Neurology, 65: 68-74, 2005.
  • Marcotte TD, Heaton RK, Albert SM. Everyday impact of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders. In Gendelman HE, ed. The Neurology of AIDS, 2nd Edition, 2005. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Pp. 743-752.
  • Albert SM, Simone B, Brassard A, Stern Y, Mayeux R. “Medicaid home care services and survival in New York City. The Gerontologist, 45: 609-616, 2005.
  • Albert SM. Public Health and Aging: An Introduction to Maximizing Function and Well-Being. New York: Springer Publishing Company, 2004.
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