Zach Gassoumis, PhD

Zach Gassoumis, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Research Family Medicine and Gerontology at the University of Southern California. He conducts research into various aspects of quality of life for older adults, with a primary focus on elder abuse, caregiving, and health, social, and protective services. His research focuses on improving the wellbeing of vulnerable populations, including minoritized groups, through improving our understanding of population characteristics, intervention efficacy, innovative programs, and policy impacts.

Dr. Gassoumis’ most recent research projects investigate service provision by adult protective services (APS), adult maltreatment multidisciplinary team (MDT) models, using technology and machine learning to enhance APS and MDT practices, elder abuse in people with dementia, and caregiver support interventions. He is a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, a former Robert Wood Johnson Foundation fellow and has affiliations with the National Center on Elder Abuse and National APS Technical Assistance Resource Center. He sits on various state and national advisory boards, including the National Center for State and Tribal Elder Justice Coalitions and the California Elder & Disability Justice Coordinating Council’s APS Workgroup.

• Gerontological Society of America: Fellow, 2024
• National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA): Rosalie S. Wolf Memorial Award, 2022

• The Mediating Role of Sense of Control in the Associations Between Remote Contacts and Loneliness Among Older Adults Res Aging. 2024 02; 46(2):167-175. . View in PubMed
• Adult Maltreatment Risk Factors: Adding Community-Level Factors to an Individual-Level Field Trauma Violence Abuse. 2024 01; 25(1):5-21. . View in PubMed
• Healthcare costs for legally adjudicated elder mistreatment victims in comparison to non-mistreated older adults J Am Geriatr Soc. 2024 01; 72(1):236-245. . View in PubMed
• Comprehensive Older Adult and Caregiver Help (COACH): A person-centered caregiver intervention prevents elder mistreatment J Am Geriatr Soc. 2024 01; 72(1):246-257. . View in PubMed
• Emergency Department and Hospital Utilization Among Older Adults Before and After Identification of Elder Mistreatment JAMA Netw Open. 2023 02 01; 6(2):e2255853. . View in PubMed
• The Differential Effects of Caregiving Intensity on Overnight Hospitalization West J Nurs Res. 2022 06; 44(6):528-539. . View in PubMed
• A comparison of negative financial events experienced by carers and non-carers following onset of the Great Recession Int J Care Caring. 2021 Nov; 5(4):557-570. . View in PubMed
• Improving forensics: Characterizing injuries among community-dwelling physically abused older adults J Am Geriatr Soc. 2021 08; 69(8):2252-2261. . View in PubMed
• Anticipated Need for Future Nursing Home Placement by Sexual Orientation: Early Findings from the Health and Retirement Study Sex Res Social Policy. 2021. . View in PubMed
• J Elder Abuse Negl. 2020 Nov-Dec; 32(5):489-508. . View in PubMed
• Elder Abuse Characteristics Based on Calls to the National Center on Elder Abuse Resource Line J Appl Gerontol. 2020 10; 39(10):1078-1087. . View in PubMed
• Toward a better understanding of the elder abuse forensic center model: comparing and contrasting four programs in California J Elder Abuse Negl. 2019 Aug-Dec; 31(4-5):402-423. . View in PubMed
• What Can Elder Mistreatment Researchers Learn About Primary Prevention From Family Violence Intervention Models? Gerontologist. 2019 07 16; 59(4):601-609.. View in PubMed
• The Prevalence of Self-Reported Elder Abuse Among Older Women in Community Settings: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Trauma Violence Abuse. 2019 04; 20(2):245-259. . View in PubMed
• What Are the Characteristics of Caregivers Logging in for Support Services? Innov Aging. 2019 Jan; 3(1):igz006.. View in PubMed
• Using Latent Class Analysis to Identify Profiles of Elder Abuse Perpetrators J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2018 06 14; 73(5):e49-e58. . View in PubMed
• J Aging Soc Policy. 2018 Jun 08; 1-19. . View in PubMed
• Research Protocol for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Elder Abuse Prevalence Studies Can J Aging. 2017 06; 36(2):256-265. . View in PubMed
• Elder abuse prevalence in community settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis Lancet Glob Health. 2017 02; 5(2):e147-e156. . View in PubMed
• Nursing Home Residents’ Preferences on Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment Gerontologist. 2016 08; 56(4):714-22. . View in PubMed
• Community Discharge of Nursing Home Residents: The Role of Facility Characteristics Health Serv Res. 2016 Apr; 51(2):645-66. . View in PubMed
• Protecting victims of elder financial exploitation: the role of an Elder Abuse Forensic Center in referring victims for conservatorship Aging Ment Health. 2015; 19(9):790-8. . View in PubMed
• Holding abusers accountable: an elder abuse forensic center increases criminal prosecution of financial exploitation Gerontologist. 2013 Apr; 53(2):303-12. . View in PubMed
• Home Health Care Serv Q. 2013; 32(2):75-91. . View in PubMed
• Determining prevalence and correlates of elder abuse using promotores: low-income immigrant Latinos report high rates of abuse and neglect J Am Geriatr Soc. 2012 Jul; 60(7):1333-9. . View in PubMed
• Conversion diversion: participation in a social HMO reduces the likelihood of converting from short-stay to long-stay nursing facility placement J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2010 Jun; 11(5):333-7. . View in PubMed
• J Aging Soc Policy. 2010 Jan; 22(1):53-68. . View in PubMed

• Wilber, Kathleen
• Mosqueda, Laura
• Demetriades, Demetrios
• Enguidanos, Susan
• Unger, Jennifer
• Martinez, Julia
• Olsen, Bonnie