Michael Caserta

Michael Caserta, PhD, FGSA

Michael Caserta, PhD, is a Professor in the Gerontology Interdisciplinary Program in the College of Nursing at the University of Utah. He holds the Robert L. and Joyce T. Rice Presidential Endowed Chair in Healthy Aging and is an associate of the University of Utah Center on Aging and Hartford Center of Excellence in Geriatric Nursing. He is also a member of the Huntsman Cancer Institute's Cancer Control and Populations Sciences Program and an Adjunct Professor of Health Promotion and Education.

Dr. Caserta has published widely in the areas of spousal bereavement, family caregiving, and health promotion and self-care following cancer death. He is now a project leader on a P01 project funded by the National Cancer Institute that addresses ways to enhance end-of-life and bereavement outcomes for cancer caregivers in hospice settings. This project provides an individually tailored intervention approach centered on bereavement support and education related to self-care and daily living challenges posing the most difficulty in the daily lives of bereaved caregiving widows and widowers.

Dr. Caserta earned his BA in Sociology (1976) from the College of Holy Cross (Worcester MA), an MS in Sociology (1984) and PhD in Health Education (1992) at the University of Utah. He has been a member of the Gerontology Faculty at the College of Nursing since 1989. He is active in several professional organizations including the Gerontological Society of America (where he co-convened an interest group on death, dying, bereavement and widowhood), Association for Death Education and Counseling, and the American Association for Health Education. He also is a founding member of the Utah Gerontological Society (now the Utah Aging Alliance), serving as its president in 2000, and was honored as the 2013 recipient of the Alliance's Pioneer Award. Dr. Caserta received the College of Nursing Excellence in Research Award in 1998. In addition to his own work, he regularly reviews manuscripts for professional scientific journals and has served on several editorial boards.

Research Statement

Dr. Caserta has published widely in the areas of spousal bereavement, family caregiving, and health promotion and self-care. His recent work has focused on ways to improve the self-care practices and daily living skills of older widows and widowers. Dr. Caserta was the principal investigator on a 5-year study (funded by the National Institute on Aging) that tested a bereavement intervention based on Stroebe and Schut’s (1999) dual process coping model. He recently served as a project leader on a P01 project funded by the National Cancer Institute that addresses ways to enhance end-of-life and bereavement outcomes for cancer caregivers in hospice settings. This project provided an individually tailored intervention approach centered on bereavement support and education related to self-care and daily living challenges posing the most difficulty in the daily lives of the bereaved caregivers. Currently, he is the co-investigator in a 5-year NIA-funded study that is designing and testing an virtual time-use coach to help family caregivers use respite care most effectively for intended benefits.

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Beck SL, Towsley GL, Caserta MS, Lindau K, Dudley W (2009). Symptom experiences and quality of life of rural and urban older adult cancer survivors. Cancer nursing, 32(5), 359-69. (Read full article)
  2. Utz RL, Caserta M, Lund (2012). Grief, depressive symptoms, and physical health among recently bereaved spouses. The Gerontologist, 52(4), 460-71. (Read full article)
  3. Caserta MS, Lund D (2007). Toward the development of an inventory of daily widowed life (IDWL): guided by the dual process model of coping with bereavement. Death studies, 31(6), 505-35. (Read full article)
  4. Caserta (2012). Challenges, transitions, and healthy aging: introduction to the special issue. International journal of aging & human development, 74(3), 189-91. (Read full article)
  5. Utz RL, Swenson KL, Caserta M, Lund D, deVries (2014). Feeling lonely versus being alone: loneliness and social support among recently bereaved persons. The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, 69(1), 85-94. (Read full article)
  6. de Vries B, Utz R, Caserta M, Lund (2014). Friend and family contact and support in early widowhood. The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, 69(1), 75-84. (Read full article)
  7. Lund DA, Utz R, Caserta MS, De Vries (2008). Humor, laughter, and happiness in the daily lives of recently bereaved spouses. Omega, 58(2), 87-105. (Read full article)
  8. Lund D, Caserta M, Utz R, De Vries (2010). Experiences and early coping of bereaved spouses/partners in an intervention based on the dual process model (dpm). Omega, 61(4), 291-313. (Read full article)
  9. Caserta MS, Lund DA, Obray S (2004). Promoting self-care and daily living skills among older widows and widowers: Evidence from the Pathfinders demonstration project. Omega, 49(3), 217-236.
  10. Utz RL, Lund DA, Caserta MS, Devries (2011). Perceived self-competency among the recently bereaved. Journal of social work in end-of-life & palliative care, 7(2-3), 173-94. (Read full article)
  11. Lund DA, Wright SD, Caserta M (2005). Respite services: Enhancing the quality of daily life for caregivers and persons with dementia. Geriatrics & aging, 8(14), 60-65.
  12. (2009).
  13. Haynes-Lewis, H (2018). Relationships between distress and supportive care needs for ethnically diverse older adults living with advanced or recurrent cancer. Oncology nursing forum, 45, 496-507.
  14. (2010).
  15. Utz, R (2014).
  16. Tabler, J (2015).
  17. (2009).
  18. MIchael Casert (2014).
  19. Michael Casert (2012).
  20. Trujillo-Tanner, C (2020). The expectancy effect and age-related macular degeneration research: A scoping review. 10, Online.
  21. Michael Caserta Ph (2014).
  22. Caserta, M (2013).
  23. Miller, L (2019). Care values in dementia: Patterns of perception and incongruence in family care dyads. 59, 509-518.
  24. Trujillo-Tanner, C (2018). Research methods with older adults with vision impairment: Lessons learned and recommended best practices. Gerontology & geriatric medicine, 4, 1-6.
  25. Mohlman, W (2018). End- of-life education and discussions with assisted living certified nursing assistants. Journal of gerontological nursing, 44, 41-48.
  26. Rebecca Ut (2012).
  27. de Vries, B (2014).
  28. (2010).
  29. Clayton, (2021). Live hospice discharge, Experiences of families and hospice staff. Patient education and counseling,
  30. Utz, R (2013).
  31. Miller, L (2020). Health profiles of spouse caregivers: The role of active coping and the risk for developing prolonged grief. Social science & medicine (1982),
  32. Miller, L (2019). Well-being in dementia care dyads and the impact of multiple dimensions of strain on persons with dementia and their family care partners. International psychogeriatrics, 31, 617-626.
  33. Michael Caserta Ph (2015).
  34. Michael Caserta Ph (2015).
  35. Chow, A (2019). Dual process bereavement group intervention (DPBGI) for widowed older adults. 59, 983-994.
  36. (2010).
  37. (2009).
  38. Michael Caserta Ph (2014).
  39. Michael Caserta Ph (2016).
  40. Rebecca Ut (2012).
  41. (2008).
  42. Utz, R (2013).
  43. Rebecca Ut (2011).
  44. Michael Caserta Ph (2015).

Review

  1. Caserta, M (2017). Sky above Clouds: Finding Our Way through Creativity, Aging, and Illness, W. L. Miller & G. D. Cohen, with T. H. Barker, Oxford University Press, New York, 2016. Reviewed for Omega: Journal of Death and Dying. [Online ahead of print: 6/26/17].

Book Chapter

  1. Caserta, M (2016).

Other

  1. Michael Casert (2012).