Posts by Margarita Alegria, PhD
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Prior Disability Prevention Training Promoted Resilience of Racially and Ethnically Minoritized Older Adults During COVID-19
Margarita Alegría, PhD, and colleagues previously found that six months of psychosocial and exercise training for vulnerable older adults improved mood and physical function compared with enhanced usual care. They provide evidence that some effects persisted for two to six years—despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
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COVID-19 May Exacerbate the Negative Impact of Discrimination on the Health of Older Adults
Massachusetts General Hospital researchers studied the association between anti-Asian COVID-19-related discrimination and health outcomes of older adults. They found discrimination positively correlated with depression/anxiety symptoms and negatively correlated with the level of physical functioning.
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Geriatric Care for Populations That Have Been Disadvantaged in Service Delivery: Q&A With Margarita Alegría, PhD
As older patients in minority populations can be particularly disadvantaged in healthcare, the Disparities Research Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital is working to generate research that reduces these disparities. Unit Chief Margarita Alegría, PhD, discusses how her team improves care for these populations.
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Help-seeking by Older Adults for Mental Health Symptoms Varies by Race/Ethnicity
With data collected at organizations and clinics serving low-income older people, Margarita Alegría, PhD, Liao Zhang, MD, PsyaD, and team found no difference between Black and white adults in mental health service use. Still, white people were more likely than older adults of color to seek care at lower levels of need.
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Community-based Psychosocial–Exercise Intervention Benefits Racial/Ethnic Minority Older Adults
A randomized controlled clinical trial found that mental health intervention and exercise training administered concurrently by community-based paraprofessionals was associated with improved mood symptoms and physical functioning in older adults of racial/ethnic minorities.
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Minority Status and Social Context Contribute to Risk of Depression and Anxiety in Latinx Youth
The stress related to discrimination, intercultural conflict and low social support appears to elevate the risk of depression and anxiety among ethnic minority youth. To promote minority youth mental health, interventions should target social interactions at the community level.
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Culturally Tailored Intervention Improves Mental Health Symptoms in Latino Immigrants with Dual Diagnosis
Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and in Spain have developed a cognitive-restructuring, mindfulness-based therapy for co-occurring mental health and substance use disorder symptoms that is culturally tailored to Latino immigrants.
Biography
Margarita Alegría, PhD is the Chief of the Disparities Research Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, and a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Alegría is currently the PI of four National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research studies: the International Latino Research Partnership; Effects of Social Context, Culture and Minority Status on Depression and Anxiety; Building Community Capacity for Disability Prevention for Minority Elders; and Mechanisms Underlying Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Mental Disorders. She is also the PI of a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) project: Effectiveness of DECIDE in Patient-Provider Communication, Therapeutic Alliance & Care Continuation.
Geriatrics & Palliative Care
The Division of Palliative Care & Geriatric Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital offers a wide range of clinical expertise including inpatient services, outpatient programs and home based programs.