María P. Aranda

About

María P. Aranda is an internationally recognized social worker and sociobehavioral scholar specializing in social work, geriatrics, and gerontology. Her research interests focus on the interplay between chronic illness, social resources, and psychological well-being in low-income minority populations. Born and raised near the USC Health Sciences campus, Aranda's early life experiences as a first-generation college student and first-generation US-born Latina have significantly influenced her scholarly contributions. She has extensive bilingual and bicultural clinical social work experience in low-income communities of color in Los Angeles County, which she brings into her scholarship, teaching, and service activities. As a professor of social work and the executive director of the USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging, Aranda's interdisciplinary work addresses disparities in health and health outcomes among diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. Her work elucidates the social, cultural, and demographic factors impacting physical functioning and psychological well-being in older and middle-aged adults and their family caregivers. She develops culturally-attuned, evidence-based interventions for populations living with dementia, depression, and other serious conditions, demonstrating a balance of scientific methods including epidemiological, observational, clinical, community-based studies, and randomized trials. Her publications appear in high-impact scientific…

Research topics

• Sociology
• Medicine
• Economic growth
• Environmental health
• Gender studies
• Psychology
• Physics
• Anthropology
• Nursing
• Psychotherapist

Selected publications

• Impact of dementia: Health disparities, population trends, care interventions, and economic costs

  Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2021 · 369 citations

  1st authorCorresponding

  INTRODUCTION: The dementia experience is not a monolithic phenomenon-and while core elements of dementia are considered universal-people living with dementia experience the disorder differently. Understanding the patterning of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) in the population with regards to incidence, risk factors, impacts on dementia care, and economic costs associated with ADRD can provide clues to target risk and protective factors for all populations as well as addressing h…

  DOI

• Dementia Caregiving Research: Expanding and Reframing the Lens of Diversity, Inclusivity, and Intersectionality

  The Gerontologist · 2020 · 140 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  This forum expands and reframes the lens of dementia caregiving research among diverse racial and ethnic groups to better understand the unique needs, stressors, and strengths of multicultural and racial-ethnic family caregivers in the United States. By providing more diverse and inclusive knowledge on caregiving to older adults in the United States, we can create a new path forward with regards to caregiving research. Throughout the article, major questions and answers are supported by critiqui…

  DOI

• Economic Burden of Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias by Race and Ethnicity, 2020 to 2060

  JAMA Network Open · 2025-06-05 · 17 citations

  articleOpen access

  Importance: Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD) have substantial clinical and public health consequences for individuals, families, employers, and government. Objective: To assess ADRD's economic burden on non-Latino African American, Latino, and non-Latino White adults and their caregivers, employers, and the government between 2020 and 2060. Design, Setting, and Participants: Population-based cross-sectional study using nationally representative data on African American, Latino, and…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Loneliness and pain among community-dwelling middle-aged and older Black, Latino, and White adults in the United States

  Frontiers in Public Health · 2024-09-17 · 8 citations

  articleOpen access

  Background Prior research has demonstrated a strong and independent association between loneliness and pain, but few studies to date have explored this relationship in racially and ethnically diverse groups of midlife and older adults. We drew on the diathesis stress model of chronic pain and cumulative inequality theory to examine the relationship of loneliness and the presence and intensity of pain in a nationally representative sample of Black, Latino, and White adults aged 50 or older in the…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Enhancing participation of historically minoritized groups in Alzheimer disease and related dementias research: National Conference Report

  Alzheimer s & Dementia · 2025-05-01 · 5 citations

  articleOpen access

  This paper reports on a Conference organized by the Washington University School of Medicine's (WUSM) Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center (Knight ADRC), entitled "Enhancing Participation by Minoritized Groups in Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementia (ADRD) Research." It builds on recommendations from a 2018 Workshop. Representatives from all 37 federally funded ADRCs described strategies to enhance the recruitment and engagement of participants from historically minoritized groups. St. Lou…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Neuropathology Core

  NIH · $45.9M · 2020–2030

• NIH Grant R21MH080624

  NIH · $452k · 2012

• NIH Grant P50AG005142

  NIH · $107.0M · 2021

Frequent coauthors

• Jürgen Floege

  RWTH Aachen University

  37 shared

• Jiaming Liang

  33 shared

• Yuri Jang

  Ewha Womans University

  29 shared

• Roberto de la Rica

  23 shared

• Antònia Socías

  Hospital Son Llatzer

  22 shared

• Alberto del Castillo

  Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands

  22 shared

• Shinyi Wu

  University of Southern California

  19 shared

• Jesús Díez‐Manglano

  18 shared

Education

• PhD, Social Work

  Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California

  1995

Awards & honors

• 2022, James Jackson Outstanding Mentorship Award, The Geront…
• 2012-present, Fellow, Gerontological Society of America, Soc…
• 2018-21, Appointed Member, National Academies of Sciences, E…
• 2019-20, Appointed Member, California Governor’s Alzheimer’s…

Similar researchers at University of Southern California

• Carl A. Castroh-55
• John Blosnichh-50
• John D. Clapph-40