Dr. Mi Jung Lee, Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Metabolism, and Rehabilitation Sciences was recently awarded two grants from the Department of Veterans Affairs (Veterans Rural Health Resource Center, Gainesville, FL).
Dr. Lee was awarded $149,600 for a project titled: “Improving Home Safety and Functioning for Rural Veterans.”
The purpose of the study is to enable rural Veterans’ aging in place by improving function and safety in the home environment. The objectives of the study include: 1) describe rural/non-rural VA home safety evaluation/ prescription clinical practice, 2) identify clinical barriers and facilitators to conducting home evaluations and implement prescribed recommendations in rural residents, and 3) create an inventory of technology and successful strategies for conducting remote home safety evaluation.
Dr. Lee was awarded $108,241 for a project titled: “Examining Risk Factors of Institutionalization for Rural Veterans with Functional Declines Using Artificial Intelligence.”
Rural Veterans are significantly older than urban Veterans, with higher probabilities of having functional declines that often lead to costly institutionalized care. In this project, risk factors of institutionalization for rural Veterans with functional declines will be investigated via artificial intelligence analyses. A pilot Institutional Risk Report will be developed that demonstrates institutionalization risk factors of rural Veterans with functional declines and then tested to provide corresponding results of risk factors. The product of this study will support the development of clinical guidelines and health-related strategies that are designed to reduce institutionalization for rural Veterans with functional declines and, consequently, promote independent living.