Dr. Clarissa Shaw's research program focuses on enhancing dementia care through person-centered approaches, with particular emphasis on preventing rejection of care through the reduction of elderspeak communication—a form of speech that sounds like baby talk. Her work has demonstrated that elderspeak communication and pain are modifiable factors significantly associated with rejection of care in hospital dementia care. As an early-stage investigator, she currently serves as Principal Investigator on an Alzheimer's Association Research Grant studying hospital dementia care and Co-Investigator on two NIH-funded R01s evaluating the CHATO (Changing Talk Online) communication intervention in nursing home dementia care. Her findings have been published in high-impact journals including the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society and International Journal of Nursing Studies.

Curriculum Vitae