Benjamin Han
University of California-San Diego, CA·Medicine & Clinical Research
Older adults who use drugs often face several problems at once. They tend to have chronic diseases and trouble with daily functioning.
- Fields
Medicine & Clinical Research
Public Health & Epidemiology
Social Science
- Topics
older adults
aging
geriatrics
- Grants
- 2 known grants, through Jul 2027
What they work on
- Track social isolation and loneliness at baseline, 6 and 12 months in 150 adults aged 55 or older with opioid use disorder in San Diego County opioid treatment programs, using validated measures.
- Test whether patterns of isolation and loneliness over time predict 12-month opioid treatment outcomes, other psychoactive substance use and acute healthcare use among older adults with opioid use disorder.
- Characterize how isolation and loneliness change over a year in 125 older adults with HIV who use methamphetamine, alongside changes in methamphetamine use, functioning and acute healthcare use.
- Use qualitative interviews with subsets of participants to explore how isolation, loneliness and intersectional stigma affect substance use, recovery, HIV care and treatment, and to gather ideas for improving social connection.
More about the research
Many have lost much of their social network, which puts them at risk of social isolation and loneliness. They also face stigma tied to drug use, treatment and age. Both projects follow older adults who use drugs over a year to measure how isolation, loneliness and overlapping forms of stigma (intersectional stigma) change over time and relate to health. The goal is to inform ways to help these patients feel more connected.
Why it matters
These studies could guide providers and policymakers in reducing isolation and loneliness among a growing, often overlooked group: older adults with opioid use disorder and older adults with HIV who use methamphetamine. Findings could inform interventions that improve addiction treatment, HIV care and overall health outcomes for these patients.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Lisham Ashrafioun
University of Rochester, NY·Psychology
Test whether six weekly telehealth sessions of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Perceived Social Isolation (CBT-PSI) reduce loneliness more than therapist-delivered or self-guided Health Education in 300 adults with opioid use disorder.
Tracey Wilson
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, NY·Public Health & Epidemiology
Characterize longitudinal, multidimensional patterns of social connection before and during the COVID era in the MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study, and identify social, behavioral and genomic predictors including polygenic risk scores.
Beth Meyerson
University of Arizona, AZ·Public Health & Epidemiology
Adapt the four MPACT components (staff trauma-informed training, trauma navigation, clinic self-assessment and reflective supervision) for opioid treatment programs through a participatory planning process with providers, patients and people with lived drug use experience.
The school
University of California-San Diego: 84 labs on PI Pages, $1.9B a year on research, 637 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
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