Sarah Holmes, PhD, MSW

HomeDirectorySarah Holmes, PhD, MSW
Sarah Holmes, PhD, MSW
  • Assistant Professor
    Organizational Systems and Adult Health
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Location:
Room 390A, School of Nursing Building
Phone:
410-706-1389
Email:
I am currently accepting new PhD students.

Education

  • PhD, Gerontology, University of Maryland Baltimore
  • MSW, Social Work, The Ohio State University
  • BA, Psychology, Miami University

Contracts, Fellowships, Grants, and Sponsored Research

  • Title:
    Optimizing Meaningful Activity and Reducing Sedentary Behavior Among Residents with Dementia in Assisted Living
    Sponsoring Organization:
    Foundation for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine
    Role:
    Principal
  • Title:
    The Volunteering-in-Place Program for Low-Income Senior Housing Residents
    Sponsoring Organization:
    UMB- ICTR
    Role:
    Co-Principal
  • Title:
    The University of Maryland Interdisciplinary Wellness Clinic in Low-Income Senior Housing Sustainability Model
    Sponsoring Organization:
    Thome Foundation- Enterprise Properties
    Role:
    Co-Investigator
  • Title:
    Meaningful Activity for Residents with Dementia in Assisted Living
    Sponsoring Organization:
    Alzheimer's Association
    Role:
    Principal

Research Interests

  • Long-term care; Senior housing; Physical and social environments; Alzheimer's disease and related dementias; Meaningful activity

Research Activity

  • Duration:
    2025 - 2026
    Title:
    The Volunteering-in-Place Program for Low-Income Senior Housing Residents
    Status:
    On-Going
  • Duration:
    2024 - 2026
    Title:
    The University of Maryland Interdisciplinary Wellness Clinic in Low-Income Senior Housing Sustainability Model
    Status:
    On-Going
  • Duration:
    2024 - 2025
    Title:
    Optimizing Meaningful Activity and Reducing Sedentary Behavior Among Residents with Dementia in Assisted Living
    Description:
    This study aims to improve engagement in meaningful activity and decrease sedentary behavior for assisted living residents with dementia by testing a theory-based approach in assisted living communities, Meaningful Engagement for decreasing Time in Sedentary behavior (METS).
    Status:
    On-Going
  • Duration:
    2022 - 2024
    Title:
    Meaningful Activity for Residents with Dementia in Assisted Living
    Description:
    The purpose of this study is to test the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of Meaningful Activity for Managing Behavioral Symptoms of Distress (MAC-4-BSD) intervention on residents’ behavioral symptoms and quality of life in a sample of assisted living residents with dementia. The intervention will be tested using a cluster randomized trial with a repeated measures design. A total of 100 residents with dementia will be recruited from 4 assisted living communities in Maryland. Outcomes will be evaluated at baseline, 4, and 12 months. Findings from this study will inform best care practices aimed at optimizing meaningful activity for assisted living residents with dementia that decrease behavioral symptoms of distress and improve their quality of life.
    Status:
    Complete
  • Duration:
    2022 - 2024
    Title:
    Advancing Person-Centered Dementia Care in Low-Resource Contexts
    Description:
    As part of this research study, we are eliciting the perspectives of leadership, staff, residents with dementia, and their family members about the measurement and delivery of person-centered dementia care in long-term care communities that are located in low-resourced and medically underserved areas. The research team will use study findings to develop an inclusive measurement implementation framework to increase capacity for meaningful measurement and high-quality dementia care.
    Status:
    Complete

Publications

  • Holmes, S.. Meaningful Activity Approach for Persons with Dementia in Assisted Living. Activities, Adaptation, & Aging, Advance online publication. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/01924788.2025.2496576
  • Holmes, S., Scherr, S., O'Brien, E., Levy, S., Galik, E. & Resnick, B. M. (2025, January (1st Quarter/Winter) 1). The Meaningful Engagement Assessment for Residents with Dementia in Assisted Living Settings.. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 26 (1), 105354. doi:10.1016/j.jamda.2024.105354
  • Holmes, S., Resnick, B. M., Klinedinst, N., Gurlu, M., Brandt, N. J., Hagen, A., et al. (2025, May). Subjective memory complaints and cognitive performance among older adults living in low-income senior housing communities: The moderating role of race.. Geriatric Nursing, 63, 574-580.
  • Holmes, S., Scherr, S., O'Brien, E., Levy, S., Gurlu, M., Zhu, S., et al. (2024, December 1). Testing the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of Meaningful Activity for Managing Behavioral Symptoms of Distress (MAC-4-BSD) intervention for residents with dementia in assisted living: Protocol description.. Research in nursing & health, 47 (6), 599-607. doi:10.1002/nur.22415
  • Holmes, S. (2024, April (2nd Quarter/Spring) 23). Examining Pain, Function, Behavioral Symptoms and Associations with Engagement in Meaningful Activity for Residents with Dementia in Assisted Living. Aging & Mental Health. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2024.2342963
  • Holmes, S. (2024, May 19). Nursing Home Characteristics Associated with Antipsychotic Prescribing After Implementation of the National Antipsychotic Reduction Initiative (ARI). Clinical Gerontologist. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/07317115.2024.2346906
  • Holmes, S., Kuzucan, A., Brandt, N., Briesacher, B., Desai, A., Feng, Z., et al. (2023, January (1st Quarter/Winter) 26). Examining transitions of care among nursing home residents with and without antipsychotic medication use. Journal of Aging & Mental Health, 1-6.

See a full list of published work.

Presentations

  • Year:
    2025
    Title:
    Breaking Science: Meaningful activity engagement for assisted living residents with dementia meaningful activity engagement for assisted living residents with dementia
    Conference/Meeting Name:
    Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association (PALTmed) Annual Conference
    Location:
    Charlotte NC United States
  • Year:
    2025
    Title:
    Opportunities in senior housing as part of post acute care
    Conference/Meeting Name:
    Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association (PALTmed) Annual Conference
    Location:
    Charlotte NC United States
  • Year:
    2024
    Title:
    Perspectives on sensorization in the nursing home among administrators, staff, residents and their family members
    Conference/Meeting Name:
    Gerontological Society of America
    Location:
    Seattle WA United States
  • Year:
    2024
    Title:
    Stakeholder perspectives on providing person-centered dementia care in low-resource long-term care settings
    Conference/Meeting Name:
    Alzheimer’s Association International Conference
    Location:
    Philadelphia PA United States
  • Year:
    2024
    Title:
    Optimizing meaningful activity for residents with dementia in assisted living
    Conference/Meeting Name:
    International Council on Active Aging Conference
    Location:
    Raleigh NC United States
  • Year:
    2024
    Title:
    Measuring preferences for meaningful activity in assisted living residents with dementia
    Conference/Meeting Name:
    Alzheimer’s Association International Conference
    Location:
    Philadelphia PA United States
  • Year:
    2024
    Title:
    Examining the associations between pain, function, and behavioral symptoms with engagement in meaningful activity among residents with dementia in assisted living
    Conference/Meeting Name:
    Alzheimer’s Association International Conference
    Location:
    Philadelphia PA United States

Primary Teaching Areas

  • Statistics; Data Analysis; Methods

Honors/Awards

  • Name:
    Howard Guterman Best Poster Award
    Sponsoring organization:
    Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association
    Date:
    March 2025
  • Name:
    Best Research Poster Award
    Sponsoring organization:
    Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association
    Date:
    March 2025
  • Name:
    Distinguished Scholarship Award
    Sponsoring organization:
    University of Maryland School of Nursing
    Date:
    2023
  • Name:
    Douglas Holmes Emerging Scholar Award
    Sponsoring organization:
    Gerontological Society of America
    Date:
    2021
  • Name:
    Selected Paper of Merit Award
    Sponsoring organization:
    Journal of Seniors Housing & Care
    Date:
    2020

Academic and Professional Activities

University

  • Date:
    2023 - Current
    Organization:
    UMSON PhD Curriculum Committee
    Role:
    Member
  • Date:
    2022 - Current
    Organization:
    UMSON Doctoral Student Organization
    Role:
    Faculty Advisor

Professional

  • Date:
    2024 - Current
    Organization:
    Gerontological Society of America: Interest Group on Research in Quality of Care (RESQCARE)
    Role:
    Committee Chair