SRPH Dr. Tai-Seale receives federal funding for study of physician communication with older patients

(COLLEGE STATION, TX) — The National Institutes of Health has awarded just under $1 million to Ming Tai-Seale, Ph.D., professor at the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health, for a two-year study of physician-patient communication between older adults and their primary care physicians from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.

The study also will examine the cost effectiveness of mental health communication by primary care physicians, who are often the only source of mental health services received by the elderly, based on the patients’ adherence to prescribed treatment.

Dr. Tai-Seale hopes to identify concrete recommendations on how to improve mental health treatment for the elderly during doctor visits, an extension of her previous research in this area that was awarded the “Article of the Year 2008” by AcademyHealth.

This is the first grant awarded to the HSC-School of Rural Public Health under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.