Hello, I teach about and conduct health services research in the area Gerontology, which is the study of aging. Gerontology comprises many dimensions and disciplines from the biological/medical to the psychological/social  to the realm of public policy and ethics. I'm interested in the care of older adults across a variety of health services settings from nursing homes to home health agencies.  Some of my research has examined nursing homes and paid caregivers, focusing on how to improve quality of care and quality of life through management practices and organizational design. Currently, I'm very interested at looking at ways to improve the quality of home health care on the policy level. I've spent the last 12 years in Japan, as a professor of Gerontology, so some of my photos will be from Japan.
This is a photo of my tea ceremony teacher who was 83 at the time (in gray kimono) and had a memory like a steel trap.You can read about some of my research below.

Brief Summary of Activities

8/05-present Research Associate, Department of Health Policy and Administration, College of Health and Human Development, Penn State University, State College, PA 16801 Courses: HPA 442 Long Term Care Administration; HPA 056 Consumer Choice in Health Care

2005-present Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing, The University of Vermont, Burlington, VT. Courses cross-listed in Sociology (Gerontology Certificate Program) and Nursing: SP 2005 Mental Health and Aging , Family Caregivers, SP 2006  Social Issues in the Provision of Long  Term Care.

1998-2004 Professor of Gerontological Nursing, Hiroshima International University and Japanese Red Cross Kyushu International University,

In addition to teaching and research I like to keep my clinical skills up-to-date and stay in touch with the health care needs and experiences of older adults. I worked full-time as a Home Health Nurse for the Addison County Home Health and Hospice, in Middlebury VT for the last two years and I currently work in PA as a Home Health Nurse part-time. This enables me to better understand access to and utilization of services, the quality of services, and the values and beliefs of the older adults in need of these services.

EDUCATION

1994 PhD The Pennsylvania State University Department of Health Policy and Administration, University Park, PA. Major: Health Services Research/Gerontology

1988 MHA The Pennsylvania State University Department of Health Policy and Administration, University Park, PA. Major: Health Services Management

1985 BSN University of Vermont Degree: Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Schreiner, A.S.,Arai, Y., Morimoto, T., & Zarit, S. (2005). Assessing Family Caregivers’ Mental Health Using a Statistically Derived Cutoff Score for the Zarit Burden Interview. Journal of Aging and Mental Health, Accepted February 2005. Forthcoming

Schreiner, A.S., Shiotani, H., Yamamoto, E. (2005). Positive Affect Among Nursing Home Residents with Dementia: the effect of recreation therapy. Journal of Aging and Mental Health, 9(2):129-134.

Schreiner, A.S., Terakado, T., Hara, N., Ikegami, N. (2004). Perceived Barriers to Instituting a Palliative Care Team at a Geriatric Hospital in Japan, International Journal of Palliative Care Nursing (vol. 10 (4):185-196.

Schreiner, A.S., & Morimoto, T. (2003). The Relationship Between Mastery and Depression among Japanese Family Caregivers. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 56(4):307-321.

Schreiner, A.S., Hayakawa, H., Morimoto., M, Kakuma, T. (2003). Screening for late-life depression: Cutoff scores for the Geriatric Depression Scale and the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia Among Japanese Subjects. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 18(6):498-505.

Shimoyama, S., Hirakawa, O., Yahiro, K., Mizumachi, T., Schreiner, A.S., Kakuma, T. (2003). Health-Related Quality of Life and Caregiver Burden Among Peritoneal Dialysis Patients and their Family Caregivers in Japan. International Journal of Peritoneal Dialysis. vol 23 (supplement 2):S200-205.

Morimoto, T., Schreiner, A.S., & Asano, H. (2003). Caregiver Burden and Health Related Quality of Life Among Japanese Stroke Caregivers. Journal of Age and Ageing, 32(2): 218-223.

Schreiner, A.S., & Morimoto, T. (2002). Factor Structure of the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia among Japanese Poststroke Patients. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. Vol 17.(8):715-722.

Schreiner, A.S., Morimoto, T., & Asano, H. (2001). Depressive symptoms among poststroke patients in Japan: frequency distribution and factor structure of the GDS. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 16 (10):941-949.

Morimoto, T., Schreiner, A.S., & Asano, H. (2001). Perceptions of burden among family caregivers of poststroke elderly in Japan. International Journal of Rehabilitation Research, 24:1-6.

Schreiner, A.S. (2001). Aggressive behaviors among demented nursing home residents in Japan. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 16: 209-215.

Schreiner, A.S., Yamamoto, E., and Shiotani, H. (2000). Agitated Behavior in Elderly Nursing Home Residents with Dementia in Japan. Journal of Gerontology, Psychological Sciences section. Vol 55B (3):P180-186. This article was invited to appear in condensed form in Research and Practice in Alzheimer's Disease Volume 5, eds: Vellas, Fitten, Feldman, Grundman, Giacobini,, & Winbald. Serdi Publisher, Paris, and Springer Publisher, NY, 2001: pp: 161-166.

Shea, D., Streit, A., & Smyer, M. (1994). Determinants of the Utilization of Mental Health Treatment Among Nursing Home Residents. Health Services Research, v29, (2):169-186.

Streit, A.& Brannon, D. (1994). The effect of primary nursing job design dimensions on caregiving technology and job performance in nursing homes. Health Services Management Research, 7(4):271-281.

Smyer, M., Shea, D., & Streit, A. (1994). The Provision and Use of Mental Health Services in Nursing Homes. American Journal of Public Health, vol 84 (2): 284-286.

Shea, D., Smyer, M.& Streit, A. (1993). Mental Health Services for Nursing Home Residents: What will it cost? The Journal of Mental Health Administration. 20(3):223-235

Brannon, D., Streit, A., & Smyer, M. (1992). The Psychosocial Quality of Nursing Home Work. Journal of Aging and Health, 4(3): 369-389.

Streit, A., & Brannon, B. The Predictive Validity of the Job Characteristics Model for Nursing Home Work. The Best Papers Proceedings, Academy of Management, 1991.

PUBLICATIONS in Japanese Nursing and/or Health Science Journals

Schreiner, A.S. et al (2004). The nursing role in artificial nutrition and hydration decisions involving end-of-life dementia patients. Japanese Journal of Nursing, vol. 68(1): 44-47.

Schreiner, A.S. et al. (2004). A model for the provision of palliative care to elderly nursing home residents with dementia. The Japanese Journal of Nursing Science. Vol 29(10):59-66.

Morimoto, T., Schreiner, A.S., Asano, H. (2002). The relationship between poststroke pain and numbness symptoms and depression. The Japanese Journal of Health Behavioral Science 17(6): 131-148

Morimoto, M., Schreiner, A. (2003). The concept of quality of life. Japanese Journal of Rehabilitation and Behavioral Analysis vol.1:12-13.

Schreiner, A.S., & Morimoto, T. (2002). A home safety guide for caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients. The Japanese Journal of Nursing Arts 48(6):90-95.

Schreiner, A.S., & Morimoto, T. (2001). Pain, the Fifth Vital Sign: Assessment and nursing interventions for chronic pain among nursing home residents with dementia. Japanese Journal of Nursing 66 (1):78-85.

Schreiner, A.S. & Morimoto, T. (2001). Nursing care of stroke patients with dysphagia. Japanese Journal of Nursing 65(7):637-645.

Schreiner, A.S., & Morimoto, T. (2000). A nursing protocol to reduce anxiety at bathing time for nursing home residents with dementia. Japanese Journal of Nursing 64(7):728-735.

NURSING TEXTBOOKS

Schreiner, A.S., Morimoto, T., Masaaki, H. (2005). Improving Nursing Home Quality of Life through specialized nursing care. Vols. 1 & 2. Chuo Publishers, Tokyo.

Volunteer/ Community Service:

I’ve organized a variety of volunteer experiences that enabled students to develop and implement recreational activities for nursing home residents. Some of these activities are based on the work of Dr Linda Buettner http://www.fgcu.edu/cfpa/Research.asp?id=9 who teaches at the University of Southern Florida.
I’ve also led seminars in hospitals which focused on educating and training staff about the kinds of dilemmas that arise in end-of-life care for terminal dementia patients.