Leslie Hasche
Contact:
Assistant Professor
PhD, Washington University in St. Louis
Craig Hall, Room 239
Telephone: 303-871-4816
Email: Leslie.Hasche@du.edu
Areas of Interest:
- Gerontology
- Mental health care for older adults
- Community-based aging services
- Implementation of evidence-based practices
Prof. Leslie Hasche is interested in direct social work practice related to gerontology and mental health. Her research targets improving care for older adults with depression, a crucial means of promoting their independence and quality of life. Her scholarship builds directly from her research on community-based services’ response to the mental health needs of older adults and on her practice experiences in health and mental health care settings.
As a John A. Hartford Geriatric Social Work Faculty Scholar (Cohort XI), Hasche is directing a study to understand agencies’ organizational readiness to adopt evidence-based depression care for older adults. This research is being conducted in partnership with the National Council on Aging and the treatment developers of Healthy IDEAS. Hasche has published scholarly articles on the mental health needs of older adults in journals such as The Gerontologist, Psychiatric Services and The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
Hasche enjoys integrating her research and previous practice experience into teaching clinical and gerontology courses, and she is committed to mentoring new social workers entering the promising and rewarding field of geriatric social work.
“Our society has never faced the size, complexity or diversity of our aging population. Through my teaching and research, I hope to motivate more social workers to take leadership roles in developing and offering services that promote the independence and quality of life for all older adults.”
