Rate My Professor Elizabeth Fauth

Fauth’s research employs biopsychosocial approaches to health and well-being across the lifespan, focusing on family caregiving for persons with Alzheimer’s and other dementias, quality of life and disease progression in dementia, functional ability and the transition to disability in late life, and stress, mood, and well-being among vulnerable adults. She investigates daily behavior problems in dementia and their effects on caregivers, evaluates interventions such as online self-guided Acceptance and Commitment Therapy programs, and examines predictors of dementia progression and psychosocial buffers in the disablement process. Collaborating with the Institute for Gerontology at Jönköping University in Sweden, she analyzes large longitudinal datasets on health decline in the oldest old. Key publications include book chapters like “Aging in Place or Long-term Care? Changing the Narrative to Promote Aging in Place in Long-term Care” (2025, Springer Nature), “Caregiver burden” (2008, Encyclopedia of Counseling, Sage), and “Elders as care receivers: Autonomy in the context of frailty” (2007, Baywood), alongside extension resources such as “A Healthy Brain: Use It or Lose It!” (2017), “Maximizing the Quality of Life for Persons with Dementia” (2017), and “Is Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia the Same Thing?” (2016). With over 60 peer-reviewed publications and more than 3,000 citations, her work impacts gerontology, dementia care, and caregiver support. Major awards include Fellowship in the Gerontological Society of America (2016), Strong Human Services Award (2020), Researcher of the Year (2014), multiple Teacher of the Year awards (2009, 2010), and pre-doctoral fellowships from the National Institute of Mental Health (2004) and National Institute on Aging (2001). She delivers public lectures, including at Utah State University’s Blue Plate Research series, and was honored as one of Utah Business magazine’s “30 Women to Watch” (2025).