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 assisting with the implementation and evaluation of five case management contracts funded by the New York City Department for the Aging.  Dr. Rizzo is also the co-director of Columbia University’s Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education, 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.

Awards:

• Fellow, New York Academy of Medicine
• Summer Institute on Social Work and Aging. College of St. Scholastica.  Duluth, MN. (July 2009 to July 2010).  Funded by the National Institute on Aging & The John A. Hartford Foundation.
• Social Work faculty Scholar training Institute. Stanford Faculty Development center, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA. April 1 – 4, 2009.
• National Institutes of Health Summer Institute on Health Services Research: Cross-systems Research to Improve Health Outcomes.  July 27 – August 1, 2008.  Bethesda, MD.
• John A. Hartford Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholar 2008-2010.
• Community Partner Award for Outstanding Collaboration in Support of the Community, United Way of Schenectady County, 2005-2006.

Research Interests:

• Efficacy and cost-effectiveness of social work interventions in health care and aging
• Palliative care
• The implications of health policy and health care financing for social work practice

Current Projects:

• Principal Investigator.  A social work care coordination program for osteoarthritis: A pilot study. John A. Hartford Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholars Program. September 2008 to August 2010.
  ($100,000).
  
  
• Principal Investigator. Evaluation of Disease Management Programs Implemented through the 2008-2009 New York State Capacity-Building Legislative Allocation. April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010. ($28,600).
  
  
• 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 2008 – August 2009. ($35,000).

Select Publications & Presentations:

Book Chapters
Smith, T., Toseland, R., Rizzo, V. & Zinoman, M. (2005). Telephone caregiver support groups. In R. Salmon & R. Graziano (Eds.), Group Work and Aging:Issues in practice, research, and education. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press. Co-published simultaneously as Journal of Gerontological SocialWork, 44 (1/2), 2004.

Rizzo, V. & Toseland, R. (2005). What’s different about working with older people in groups? In R. Salmon & R. Graziano (Eds.), Group Work and Aging: Issues in practice, research, and education. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press. Co-published simultaneously as Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 44 (1/2), 2004.

Perloff, J. & Rizzo, V. (2003). Conversations From the Heart: Resources for Talking with Children About a Parent’s Serious Illness.  Albany, NY: The Life Institute.  Also available at: www.thelifeinstitute.org.

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

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

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).
 
Claiborne, N. & Rizzo, V. (2006). Addressing Sexual Issues in Individuals with Chronic Health Conditions. Health & Social Work, 31(3), 221-224.

Rizzo, V. (2006) Social Work Support Services for Stroke Patients: Interventions and Outcomes. Social Work in Health Care, 43(1), 33-56.

Behrman, G., Mancini, M., Briar-Lawson, K., Rizzo, V., Baskind, F., &
Valentine, C. (2006). Geriatric social work education: Exploringstrategies to advance public sector funding. Journal of Social Work Education, 42(1), 371 –382.

Rizzo, V. & Fortune, A. (2006). Cost-effectiveness and social work practice (editorial). Research on Social Work Practice, 16(1), 5-8.

Rizzo, V. & Rowe, J. (2006). Studies of the Efficacy of Social Work Services in Aging with a Focus on Cost Outcomes: A Review of the Literature. Research on Social Work Practice, 16(1), 67-73.

Rizzo, V. & Kirkland, K. (2005) Adolescent reactions to parental cancer: Strategies for providing support. The Prevention Researcher, 12(4),10–12.

Rizzo, V., Mizrahi, T., & Kirkland, K. (2005). Psychosocial Problems among Patients in Neighborhood Health Centers. Journal of Community Health, 30    (2), 125-140.

Smith, T., Toseland, R., Rizzo, V., & Zinoman, M. (2005). Telephone caregiver support groups. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 44(1/2), 151-172.

Toseland, R., & Rizzo, V. (2005). What’s different about working with older people in groups? Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 44(1/2), 5-23.

Lupoli, J., & Rizzo, V. (2004). The Impact of Technology on the “older nurse;”Findings of the Study, Part 2. Home Healthcare Nurse, 22(10), 668– 670.

Perloff, J. & Rizzo, V. (2004). Guide for Parents: 10 tips for talking with   children about a parent’s life-threatening illness.  Contemporary Pediatrics, 21(5), p. 84. (Spanish version available)

Lupoli J. & Rizzo, V. (2003). The impact of technology on the ‘older nurse’. Home HealthCare Nurse, 21(10), 691-692.

Presentations
Gomes, M., Rizzo, V., & Dunner, I. Studying caregiver respite programs. Poster presentation. NCOA/ASA Annual Program meeting. Las Vegas, NV.  March 18, 2009.

Rizzo, V. Update on NYS and NYC Capacity Building Initiatives. Arthritis Advocates in Action Training Session IX: Make your Voice Heard. Arthritis Foundation, New York Chapter. December 10, 2008.

Rizzo, V. & Gomes, M. How do we measure up? Evidence-based practice. Workshop presentation. Jewish Association for Services for the Aged Staff Institute Day entitled, “Celebrating the many faces of aging: A multi-cultural perspective. New York, NY. June 20, 2008.

Last updated October 02, 2009.