Lena Makaroun

Assistant Professor

University of Pittsburgh/VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System

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Location: PittsburghPA

Years of Experience: Unknown

Victimization Focus

• Domestic and Family Violence
• Elder Abuse/Mistreatment
• Gun Violence

Special Populations

• Elderly/Seniors
• LGBTQ
• Military personnel/veterans

Victim Research Expertise

• Data collection
• Descriptive studies
• Needs assessment
• Qualitative studies
• Quantitative studies

About the Researcher

Lena K. Makaroun, MD, MS is Assistant Professor of Geriatrics at the University of Pittsburgh and Core Investigator at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion. Dr. Makaroun's research addresses health-related social risk factors for older adults, with a specific focus on elder abuse. Her work aims to broaden our understanding of elder abuse risk and susceptibility and enhance healthcare system capacity for effective, interdisciplinary elder abuse response. Her goal is to develop evidence-based approaches to elder abuse detection and response in VA to improve health, safety, and well-being for older Veterans. She works closely with the VA National Office of Care Management and Social Work and serves on the National Social Work Elder Justice Clinical Implementation Team to ensure her research translates into meaningful and equitable practice changes in VA and beyond.