Lydia W. Li
Professor of Social Work
Professor Li’s research examines how socio-structural factors are related to depression, suicide, cognitive function and healthy aging in older adults. She has conducted epidemiological and intervention studies to understand and address health disadvantages of older adults in rural China, older Chinese immigrants in the United States and older adults with low incomes. She is a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) and served as the co-chair of the 2016 GSA program committee. She was a Hartford Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholar. Currently, she is serving as an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Social Welfare, on the editorial board of Research on Aging and Journal of Gerontological Social Work, and as an expert reviewer for the Public Policy Research Funding Scheme in Hong Kong. She has been an Associate Editor of BMC Geriatrics. She teaches courses related to social welfare policy, research methods, program evaluation, aging policy, and social gerontology.
Research Interests/Focus
Depression and suicide in later life, rural elders, cross-cultural gerontology, ageism, community-based interventions.
Contact Information
| Phone | Room | Address | |
|---|---|---|---|
| (734) 936-4850 | lydiali@umich.edu | 3839 SSWB | University of Michigan School of Social Work 1080 S. University Ann Arbor, MI 48109 |
Education
| Year | Degree | School | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | PhD | Social Welfare | University of Wisconsin, Madison |
| 1989 | MSW | Social Work | University of Hong Kong, China |
| 1984 | Honor's Diploma | Social Work | Hong Kong Baptist College, China |
| Project | Faculty | Abstract |
|---|---|---|
| Connecting through Phone-Based Meditation | Li, Lydia |
View Abstract »
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Connecting through Phone-Based MeditationThe COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated problems of social isolation and loneliness in older people. Strong evidence supports that social isolation and loneliness are serious public health risks. 1 Hence, there is an urgency to develop effective, safe, and scalable interventions to reduce social isolation and loneliness of older adults. We propose to test the feasibility and efficacy of a telephone-based meditation program that aims to reduce loneliness, increase social contact, and develop mutual support among low- income homebound older adults. The program involves six weekly group sessions of instructor- led meditation and daily home meditation practice guided by recordings, all delivered through conference calls. We will randomize 20 eligible homebound elders to an experimental and a waitlist control group, and test the following hypotheses: (1) Compared to control group participants, experimental group participants will have: (a) more reduction in loneliness, and (b) more increase in social contact. (2) Study participants will have informal contact with and perceive a supportive relationship with other group members after the meditation program ends. We will examine feasibility in terms of (a) sample recruitment and retention, (b) participants’ engagement in training sessions and home practice, (c) compliance and acceptability of the treatment, and (d) participants’ subjective experience of the meditation program. This phone-based meditation program is accessible (telephone), safe (social distancing), scalable (can be easily adapted as a program of a senior center or a health clinic, for example), and relatively inexpensive. Further, the approach is based on research supporting beneficial effects of meditation. |
| Connecting through Phone-Based Meditation | Li, Lydia |