Research and Publications
RISE integrates research and practice from the start —
here’s what we’ve published and are working on now.
Every RISE implementation is designed as an opportunity to learn — not just to deliver a service. That means testing outcomes rigorously, publishing findings (including where results are mixed), and integrating what we learn back into the model as we proceed. Below is a running record of our published research and papers in the pipeline.
RISE Locations, by Model
RISE’s model, methods, and outcomes have been published in peer-reviewed journals focused on gerontology, medicine/geriatrics, family violence, elder abuse, adult protection, and policy.
2018
Burnes, D., Connolly, M.T., Hamilton, R., & Lachs, M.S. (2018). The Feasibility of Goal Attainment Scaling to Measure Case Resolution in Elder Abuse and Neglect Adult Protective Services Intervention. Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect, 30, 209–222.
2022
Burnes, D., Connolly, M.T., Salvo, E., Kimball, P., Rogers, G., & Lewis, S. (2022a). RISE: An Integrated Model of Elder Abuse Intervention. The Gerontologist, 63, 966–973.
Introduces RISE’s theoretical framework — the four modalities and four levels described on the RISE Model page.
Burnes, D., MacNeil, A., Connolly, M.T., Salvo, E., Kimball, P., Rogers, G., & Lewis, S. (2022b). Qualitative Evaluation of the “RISE” Elder Abuse Intervention Model in Partnership with Adult Protective Services: Addressing a Service System Gap. Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect, 34, 329–348.
MacNeil, A., Connolly, M.T., Salvo, E., Kimball, P., Rogers, G., & Lewis, S., & Burnes, D. (2022). Preliminary Findings on the Use of “Teaming” in Elder Abuse Intervention: The RISE Project. The Journal of Adult Protection, 25, 339–350.
2023
MacNeil, A., Connolly, M.T., Salvo, E., Kimball, P.F., Rogers, G., Lewis, S., & Burnes, D. (2023). Use of Motivational Interviewing by Advocates in the Context of an Elder Abuse Response Intervention: The RISE Project. Journal of Family Violence.
Lewis, S., Connolly, M.T., Salvo, E., Kimball, P., Rogers, G., MacNeil, A., & Burnes, D. (2023). Effect of an Elder Abuse and Self-Neglect Intervention on Repeat Investigations by Adult Protective Services: RISE Project. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 71, 3403–3412.
Evaluation findings associated with a 55% reduction in repeat APS investigations among RISE cases in Maine.
2024
Lewis, S., Connolly, M.T., Kimball, P., Salvo, E., Rogers, G., & Burnes, D. (2024). Self-Neglect Co-Occurs With and Is a Risk Factor for Elder Mistreatment: An Analysis of Maine Adult Protective Services Administrative Data. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Campo-Tena, L., Farzana, A., Burnes, D., et al. (2024). Intervention accelerator to prevent and respond to abuse of older people: insights from key promising interventions. Lancet Healthy Longevity, 5, 100647.
Describes WHO-led review that screened nearly 14,000 records and identified 89 promising interventions worldwide to prevent and respond to abuse of older people. RISE was selected as one of seven candidates for rigorous testing.
2025
Campo-Tena, L., Herbst, J.H., Choo, W.Y., Burnes, D., et al. (2025). Seven candidate interventions to address abuse of older people. Age and Ageing, 54, afaf248.
RISE was named one of just seven interventions worldwide — selected from the 89 candidates above — to advance to rigorous testing and evaluation through the World Health Organization’s Abuse of Older People Intervention Accelerator (AOP-IA), part of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing.
Our Research Designs
Several additional papers are in progress, drawing on RISE’s expanding network of sites and evaluations:
Legal and Policy Analysis — Harvard Law School Petrie-Flom Center / Cambridge University Press;
Toward a More Effective Response to Elder Abuse and Self-Neglect
A publication examining the “secret sauce” of RISE and the legal and policy dimensions of RISE’s approach; paper presented at convening of Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School, June 2025, slated for publication in Cambridge University Press.
Status: In progress
Montana RISE Embedded in APS Model
Findings on RISE’s feasibility and acceptability when delivered directly by Adult Protective Services Social Service Workers (SSWs) rather than an external community-based organization — based on Montana’s ongoing feasibility study. (In Montana, RISE is used in both usual APS cases and in guardianship cases.)
Status: In progress
Early Implementation Science Findings — RISE-APS Replication & Evaluation Project
Pre-implementation findings from the replication and evaluation of RISE-APS across new sites examining barriers, facilitators, and early implementation science outcomes before full-service delivery began.
Status: In progress
Looking for Something Specific?
We are always looking for other researchers to evaluate RISE. If that’s you, please get in touch! Also, if you’re a researcher interested in collaborating with RISE or would like a copy of a publication, or have an idea you’d like to discuss, we’d love to hear from you.
