Bio:

Dr. Victoria Rizzo has used her extensive social work practice in health care experience to develop and implement health services research in the area of aging and chronic illness.  With colleagues from the Kaiser Permanente Health Care System (KP) and The Life Institute, Dr. Rizzo recently completed a  controlled trial of the Advanced Illness Care Coordination Program with older adults, who are KP members receiving treatment for cancer, end stage renal disease, congestive heart failure and cardiopulmonary disease.  Beginning three years ago, Dr. Rizzo partnered with the New York State (NYS) Chapters of the Arthritis Foundation to conduct yearly evaluations of their NYS funded capacity building program for disease management courses.  During the first two years of the study, more than 6,000 older adults with arthritis have participated in disease management courses with significant and positive outcomes including: increased knowledge of arthritis symptoms and pain management, increased in participation in regular exercise, and decreased outpatient and inpatient medical treatment.  This research provided the foundation for her Hartford Faculty Scholars study entitled, “A Social Work Care Coordination Program for Osteoarthritis: A Feasibility Study.”  The specific aims of this research are to: 1) identify the primary determinants of health behavior (population characteristics) that inhibit OA individuals’ participation in disease management programs; and 2) use the findings to develop a social work care coordination model for OA individuals that can more fully address the primary determinants of health care practices and use of health services.

Dr. Rizzo is also partnering with community agencies to evaluate their current programs as well as develop and implement new programs to meet the needs of their clients.  She is the current director of the Jewish Association for Services for the Aged (JASA) Research Institute. Through a contract between JASA and Columbia University, Dr. Rizzo is able to conduct research focused on the provision of professional social work services to the aged.  For example, she is currently conducting an evaluation of ten UJA-Federation funded caregiver programs with funding provided to the JASA Research Institute by the UJA-Federation. Dr. Rizzo is also the co-director of Columbia University’s Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education (HPPAE), which is an internship program for second year MSW students interested in the field of aging.  The program provides students with a rotational field placement and specialized training and seminars focused on social work practice with aging individuals.  In August 2010, she was appointed as the National HPPAE Consultant by the Social Work Leadership Institute, New York Academy of Medicine.

Research Interests:

• Efficacy and cost-effectiveness of social work interventions in chronic illness and aging
• University/community agencies research partnerships to promote and sustain evidence-based practice
• The implications of health policy and health care financing for social work practice in aging

Recent Awards:

• Agency for Health Care Research & Quality. Innovations Exchange Inclusion Intervention: Advanced Illness Care Coordination Program Evidence Rating: Strong
• National HPPAE Consultant, Social Work Leadership Institute, New York Academy of Medicine
• Fellow, New York Academy of Medicine

Current Projects:

• Principal Investigator. JASA/LEAP Elder Abuse Program Evaluation. April 1, 2011 – March 31, 2012.

• Principal Investigator. The Caregiver Support Research Program. Jewish Association for Services for the Aged Research Institute.  UJA-Federation of New York. January 2010 – December 31, 2011. ($40,000).

• Principal Investigator. The Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education. Social Work Leadership Institute, New York Academy of Medicine, New York, New York. January 2008 – August 2011. ($75,000).

• Director & Principal Investigator. Jewish Association for Services for the Aged (JASA) Research Institute. September 2007 – August 2011. ($140,000)

Select Publications:

Journal Articles
Rizzo, V., Engelhardt, J., Tobin, D., Della Penna, R., Feigenbaum, P.,Sisselman, A., Nicholson, J., Niemeyer, B., Albert, E. & Lombardo, F. (2010). Use of the stages of change transtheoretical model in end-of-life planning. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 13(3), 267-271.

Engelhardt, J., Rizzo, V., Della Penna, R., Feigenbaum, P., Kirkland, K.,    Nicholson, J., O’Keefe-Rossetti, M., Venohr, I., Reger, P., & Tobin, D. (2009) Effectiveness of advancing illness care coordination and health            counseling. The American Journal of Managed Care, 15(11), 817-825.

Rizzo, V. (2009). Chapter 2: Chronic -illness and aging, Section 5- Osteoarthritis: A chronic incapacitating disease. Advanced Masters      Curriculum, CSWE Gero-Ed Center, National Center for Gerontological    Social Work Education, An Initiative of the Hartford Geriatric Social Work Initiative.

Rizzo, V. & Seidman, J. (2009). Chapter 3: Health promotion & Aging, Sections 1–3. Advanced Masters Curriculum, CSWE Gero-Ed Center, National Center for Gerontological Social Work Education, An Initiative of the Hartford Geriatric Social Work Initiative.

Rizzo, V. & Bronstein, L. (2008). The implications of social work practice cost outcomes for American health policy (editorial). Social Work in Public Health, 23(6), 1-5.

Mizrahi, T. & Rizzo, V. (2008). The role of social workers in addressing the psychosocial problems of patients in New York City’s neighborhood health centers. Social Work in Public Health, 23(6). 

Last updated August 30, 2011.