Dr. Wetle conducts research on topics associated with the health of aging populations. Her applied ethics research on end of life decision-making has focused on the preferences and experiences of older persons, and the practices of health care professionals. Her work on aging health and function has focused on urinary incontinence and delirium as examples of geriatric syndromes. She has an interest in qualitative and mixed methods research, with a book on the topic under publication.

Dr. Wetle is Associate Dean of Medicine for Public Health and Public Policy, and is Professor of Community Health. She was most recently Deputy Director, National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health. Formerly, she was Director for the Braceland Center for Mental Health and Aging at the Institute of Living; and Associate Professor of Community Medicine and Health Care, University of Connecticut Health Center, School of Medicine. She is former Associate Director of the Division on Aging and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. At Yale, she was Director of the Program in Long Term Care Administration and Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health. She previously worked in federal government as a Social Policy Analyst for the Administration on Aging, DHHS, and in local government as director of an Area Agency on Aging in Portland, Oregon. She is Past-President of the Gerontological Society of America, and President-elect of the American Federation for Aging Research. She recently was awarded a Docteure Honoris Causa by the University of Geneva.

Recent Publications

Bolda E, Saucier P, Maddox, G, Wetle T, Isaacs Lowe, J. Governance and Management Structures for Community Partnerships: Experiences from the RWJ Community Partnerships for Older Adults Program, in press, Gerontologist.

Curry L, Shield R, Wetle T. Improving Aging and Public Health Research: Qualitative and Mixed Methods. Washington, D.C.: American Public Health Association and Gerontological Society of America, 2006.

Curry L, Wetle T. Improving Aging and Public Health Research: Qualitative and Mixed Methods.. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2006 in press.

Wetle T. Health Care Funding. In: Beers MH, Berkow R (eds). The Merck Manual of Geriatrics, 4th edition, Whitehouse, NJ: Merck & Co.: 2006: in press.

Curry L, Wetle T. Ethical Considerations. In: Evashwick C, (Ed). The Continuum of Long Term Care. Delmar, CA: Delmar Publishers, Inc., 2005, 279-292.

Shield R, Wetle T, Teno J, Miller S, Welch L. "Missing in Action": Family Perspectives on Physician and Staffing Problems in End-of-Life Care in the Nursing Home. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2005, 53(10); 1651-1657.

Wetle T, Shield R, Teno J, Miller S, Welch L. Family Perspectives on End of Life Care Experiences in Nursing Homes, Gerontologist, 2005; 45:642-650.

Teno JM, Clarridge B, Casey V, Welch L, Wetle T, Shield R, Mor, V. Family Perspectives on End-of-Life Care at the Last Place of Care. Journal of the American Medical Association, 2004; 291(1):88-93.

Teno JM, Kabumoto G, Wetle T, Roy J, Mor V. Daily pain that was excruciating at some time in the previous week: Prevalence, characteristics, and outcomes in nursing home residents. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2004; 52(5): 762-767.

Wetle T, Teno J, Shield R, Welch L, Miller S. End of Life in Nursing Homes: Experiences and Policy Recommendations. Washington, D.C.: AARP, 2004.

Wetle, T. Paying for Health Care. In: Beers, M (ed). The Merck Manual of Health and Aging. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck Research Laboratories, 2004:854-867.

Wetle, T. Coping with Change. In Beers, M. (ed). The Merck Manual of Health and Aging. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck Research Laboratories, 2004: 819-867.

Teno, J. Mor V, DeSilva D, Kabumoto G, Roy J, Wetle, T. Use of Feeding Tubes in Nursing Home Residents with Severe Cognitive Impairment. Journal of the American Medical Association, 2002; 287(24): 3211-3212.

Teno J, Weitzen S, Wetle T, Mor V. Persistent pain in nursing homes: A national problem. Journal of the American Medical Association, 2001; 285(16): 2081.

Walker L, Bradley E, Wetle T (ed). Public and Private Responsibilities in Long Term Care: Finding the Balance. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Press, 1998.