GSA on Aging

GSA Interest Group Podcast: Understanding Person-Centered Care for Older Adults: Ghana [5/6]

Understanding Person-Centered Care for Older Adults in Six Developing Countries/Regions: Ghana [Episode 5]
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The impact of population aging is universally recognized and has been extensively studied in wealthier, developed regions. But we know much less about how aging is experienced by low- and middle-income countries and populations and how these regions are responding to the challenges created by the aging of their populations. The rapid rate of population aging in many developing parts of the world—fueled by falling fertility rates and a shift in the predominance of chronic diseases rather than acute and infectious illnesses—has left little time to anticipate and prepare for the consequences of aging populations. 
The GSA Interest Group on Common Data Elements for International Research in Residential Long-term Care has developed a limited podcast series to provide insights into how culture, competing population health priorities, political conflict, and resource limitations influence older adults, their families, and paid/formal caregivers along a trajectory of development, including Brazil, China, East Jerusalem, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Thailand.
Guest: Diana Abudu-Birresborn, PhDDr. Abudu-Birresborn is a doctoral graduate of the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, with a specialization in Health Systems Leadership and Administration and a collaborative specialization in ageing from the Institute of Life Course and Ageing, at the University of Toronto, Canada. Dr. Abudu-Birresborn has more than a decade of nursing experience in rural and urban communities of Ghana. Her doctoral work focused on the preparation of nursing students to care for older adults in Ghana. Specifically, she examined nursing students' self-efficacy in caring for older adults in acute care settings, using a mixed-method approach. 
Host: Barbara Bowers, PhD, RN, FAAN, FGSA, Emerita Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, School of Nursing; Founding Director of the UW–Madison School of Nursing’s Center for Aging Research and Education
Moderator:Jing Wang, PhD, RN, FAAN, Assistant Professor at the University of New Hampshire, College of Health and Human Services
This podcast limited series is supported by the GSA Innovation Fund. 

GSA Interest Group Podcast: Understanding Person-Centered Care for Older Adults: Ethiopia [4/6]

Understanding Person-Centered Care for Older Adults in Six Developing Countries/Regions: Ethiopia [Episode 4]
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The impact of population aging is universally recognized and has been extensively studied in wealthier, developed regions. But we know much less about how aging is experienced by low- and middle-income countries and populations and how these regions are responding to the challenges created by the aging of their populations. The rapid rate of population aging in many developing parts of the world—fueled by falling fertility rates and a shift in the predominance of chronic diseases rather than acute and infectious illnesses—has left little time to anticipate and prepare for the consequences of aging populations. 
The GSA Interest Group on Common Data Elements for International Research in Residential Long-term Care has developed a limited podcast series to provide insights into how culture, competing population health priorities, political conflict, and resource limitations influence older adults, their families, and paid/formal caregivers along a trajectory of development, including Brazil, China, East Jerusalem, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Thailand.
 
Guest: Nigussie Tadesse Sharew, MSNigussie is a doctoral student at the University of Adelaide, Adelaide Medical School in Australia, where he is studying the pharmacogenomics of drugs used in the treatment of mental health disorders. He holds two master’s degrees in clinical epidemiology from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and adult health nursing from Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. He was an Assistant Professor at Debre Berhan University in Ethiopia, where he has served as Dean of the College of Health Science for three years and as head of the nursing department for two years.
Host: Barbara Bowers, PhD, RN, FAAN, FGSA, Emerita Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, School of Nursing; Founding Director of the UW–Madison School of Nursing’s Center for Aging Research and Education
Moderator:Jing Wang, PhD, RN, FAAN, Assistant Professor at the University of New Hampshire, College of Health and Human Services
This podcast limited series is supported by the GSA Innovation Fund. 

GSA Interest Group Podcast: Understanding Person-Centered Care for Older Adults: East Jerusalem [3/6]

Understanding Person-Centered Care for Older Adults in Six Developing Countries/Regions: Caring for Palestinians Living in East Jerusalem [Episode 3]
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The impact of population aging is universally recognized and has been extensively studied in wealthier, developed regions. But we know much less about how aging is experienced by low- and middle-income countries and populations and how these regions are responding to the challenges created by the aging of their populations. The rapid rate of population aging in many developing parts of the world—fueled by falling fertility rates and a shift in the predominance of chronic diseases rather than acute and infectious illnesses—has left little time to anticipate and prepare for the consequences of aging populations. 
The GSA Interest Group on Common Data Elements for International Research in Residential Long-term Care has developed a limited podcast series to provide insights into how culture, competing population health priorities, political conflict, and resource limitations influence older adults, their families, and paid/formal caregivers along a trajectory of development, including Brazil, China, East Jerusalem, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Thailand.
Guest: Amal Abu Awad, PhD, RN, MSNDr. Abu Awad serves as the Chief Nursing Officer at Augusta Victoria Hospital. She has an educational background that includes a baccalaureate degree in nursing from Al-Quds University in the West Bank, a master's degree in pediatric and neonatal nursing from the University of South Carolina, and a doctoral degree in nursing from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a minor in educational leadership and policy analysis. Additionally, Dr. Abu Awad has a significant history in education, having previously worked as the Dean of Ibn Sina College for Health Sciences and as the Director General of Education in Health at the Ministry of Health of the Palestinian Territory. 
Host: Barbara Bowers, PhD, RN, FAAN, FGSA, Emerita Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, School of Nursing; Founding Director of the UW–Madison School of Nursing’s Center for Aging Research and Education
Moderator:Jing Wang, PhD, RN, FAAN, Assistant Professor at the University of New Hampshire, College of Health and Human Services
This podcast limited series is supported by the GSA Innovation Fund. 

GSA Interest Group Podcast: Understanding Person-Centered Care for Older Adults: China [2/6]

Understanding Person-Centered Care for Older Adults in Six Developing Countries/Regions: China [Episode 2]
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The impact of population aging is universally recognized and has been extensively studied in wealthier, developed regions. But we know much less about how aging is experienced by low- and middle-income countries and populations and how these regions are responding to the challenges created by the aging of their populations. The rapid rate of population aging in many developing parts of the world—fueled by falling fertility rates and a shift in the predominance of chronic diseases rather than acute and infectious illnesses—has left little time to anticipate and prepare for the consequences of aging populations. 
The GSA Interest Group on Common Data Elements for International Research in Residential Long-term Care has developed a limited podcast series to provide insights into how culture, competing population health priorities, political conflict, and resource limitations influence older adults, their families, and paid/formal caregivers along a trajectory of development, including Brazil, China, East Jerusalem, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Thailand.
Guest: Honglin Chen, PhDDr. Chen is currently a professor of gerontological social work at the University of Eastern Finland. She has been doing research and teaching in aging policy and practice field as a Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Social Work at Fudan University in Shanghai, China for 20 years. Her current research area focuses on welfare technology, smart elder care, social work education and serves as an editorial board member in the Journal of Social Work. Dr. Chen is also a Sino-America Fulbright Scholar at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California.
Host: Barbara Bowers, PhD, RN, FAAN, FGSA, Emerita Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, School of Nursing; Founding Director of the UW–Madison School of Nursing’s Center for Aging Research and Education
Moderator:Jing Wang, PhD, RN, FAAN, Assistant Professor at the University of New Hampshire, College of Health and Human Services
This podcast limited series is supported by the GSA Innovation Fund. 

GSA Interest Group Podcast: Understanding Person-Centered Care for Older Adults: Brazil [1/6]

Understanding Person-Centered Care for Older Adults in Six Developing Countries/Regions: Brazil [Episode 1]
Download the Transcript
The impact of population aging is universally recognized and has been extensively studied in wealthier, developed regions. But we know much less about how aging is experienced by low- and middle-income countries and populations and how these regions are responding to the challenges created by the aging of their populations. The rapid rate of population aging in many developing parts of the world—fueled by falling fertility rates and a shift in the predominance of chronic diseases rather than acute and infectious illnesses—has left little time to anticipate and prepare for the consequences of aging populations. 
The GSA Interest Group on Common Data Elements for International Research in Residential Long-term Care has developed a limited podcast series to provide insights into how culture, competing population health priorities, political conflict, and resource limitations influence older adults, their families, and paid/formal caregivers along a trajectory of development, including Brazil, China, East Jerusalem, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Thailand.
Guest: Patrick Alexander Wachholz, PhDDr. Wachholz is a geriatrician in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Professor at the Botucatu Medical School at Sao Paulo State University. Dr. Wachholz is also a researcher at the Brazilian National Front for Strengthening Long-Term Care, a network promoting and supporting initiatives for long-term care and advocating for stronger public policies for older adults in this setting. Previously, as a consultant to the Pan American Health Organization for the long-term care sector in Latin America, he served as Director of the Department of Geriatric Medicine in a long-term care facility in Brazil. Dr. Wachholz is currently Editor-in-Chief of Geriatrics, Gerontology and Aging.
Host: Barbara Bowers, PhD, RN, FAAN, FGSA, Emerita Professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, School of Nursing; Founding Director of the UW–Madison School of Nursing’s Center for Aging Research and Education
Moderator:Jing Wang, PhD, RN, FAAN, Assistant Professor at the University of New Hampshire, College of Health and Human Services
This podcast limited series is supported by the GSA Innovation Fund. 

GSA Policy Intern Podcast Series: Insights from Interns - Episode 4

This episode is part of a continued series that will provide insights into the experiences of GSA Policy Interns from various cohorts. Join former policy intern Bailee Brekke (’23) as she speaks with the 2021 interns, Lei Chen and Kaleigh Ligus, about their internship experience and how it has impacted their current work.
 
Guest Bios:
Lei Chen, PhD, is a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies. She is a transdisciplinary and cross-cultural researcher whose work focuses on long-term services and supports, immigrants’ access to health care, migrant workforce, aging and health policy, aging and technology, and cross-cultural study. Dr. Chen is working on a National Institutes of Health–funded project that aims to advance research on the health care workforce that serves people living with dementia. She applies quantitative and qualitative methodologies to her research. Before joining UCSF, she worked on several research projects at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Center for Health Policy Research and collaborated with the UCLA Human-Centered Computing and Intelligent Sensing Lab. Dr. Chen also engages in policy-related work such as assisting in developing and implementing the Master Plan for Aging in California.
Kaleigh Ligus, PhD, is a social science research analyst at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. Her work includes developing, implementing, and evaluating new CMS patient care models aimed at improving Medicare beneficiaries’ health care experiences and health outcomes. Dr. Ligus currently works on the team for the Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience Model. She has been dedicated to serving older adults living with chronic disease since 2015 during her experience at the University of Connecticut (UConn) Health Center on Aging. She earned her doctoral degree in human development and family sciences, with a specialization in adulthood, aging and gerontology, from UConn in 2023. During graduate school, she served as the Greg O’Neill Policy Intern for the Gerontological Society of America (summer 2021) and Health Policy Fellow at AcademyHealth (summer of 2022), working with like-minded community collaborators and political leaders to advocate for health policy change.

GSA Policy Intern Podcast Series: Insights from Interns - Episode 3

This episode is part of a continued series that will provide insights into the experiences of GSA Policy Interns from various cohorts. Join former policy intern Christina Mu (’23) as she speaks with the 2019 intern, Haley Gallo Sutherland, about her internship experience and how it has impacted her current work. Haley was the inaugural intern at the start of the internship in 2019! The internship was started in memory of Dr. Greg O’Neill, an aging and policy champion, longtime GSA member, and beloved friend and colleague.
 
Guest Bio:
Haley Gallo Sutherland, PhD, is a researcher at Mathematica, where she contributes to a range of technical assistance and research projects focused on integrating care for people who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and using Medicaid home- and community-based services (HCBS). Her work centers on providing states with technical assistance to better integrate Medicare and Medicaid, identifying and filling gaps in states’ HCBS programs, and helping states transition people from institutional settings back to their communities. She analyzes state Medicaid policies to inform federal guidance, presents at webinars and trainings, and develops written resources on various topics for state Medicaid agencies. Her interests focus on studying and improving social and medical programs that enable older adults and people with disabilities to remain in their communities. She earned her doctoral degree in gerontology from the University of Southern California and joined Mathematica in 2022.

GSA Policy Intern Podcast Series: Insights from Interns - Episode 2

This episode is part of a continued series that will provide insights into the experiences of GSA Policy Interns from various cohorts.  Join former Policy interns as they delve into details on how and where to learn more about this fantastic opportunity.

GSA Policy Intern Podcast Series: Insights from Interns - Intro Episode

In the inaugural episode of the GSA Policy Intern Podcast Series, meet the 2023 GSA Summer Policy Interns. Alisha Thompson, Bailee Brekke, and Christina Mu, who have aptly named themselves Team ABC, briefly introduce themselves and the series. The series aims to share the experiences of GSA Policy Interns both past and prese nt, provide insights on how to connect with this year’s interns during and after the Annual Scientific Meeting, and will include interviews with colleagues of Drs. Greg O’Neil and Kathy Hyer, for whom the internship is named. The episode serves as a brief introduction and focuses primarily on where and how listeners can connect with the interns during the Annual Scientific Meeting in Tampa. They mention attending events like the New Member/First-Timer Orientation, an ESPO informal chat about the Summer Policy Internship, and a Policy Series Symposium chaired by Trish D’Antonio. They also discuss the application deadline for the internship, which is January 31, and invite prospective applicants to join a GSA Policy Internship Webinar on January 12. Team ABC expresses their excitement about sharing their internship experiences in the upcoming episodes and looks forward to meeting the audience in Tampa. The episode concludes with Alisha, Bailee, and Christina signing off as Team ABC.

GSA Interest Group Podcast: Aging in the Company of Animals: A Journey of Recognition and Research of the Human-Animal Bond

The podcast episode will tell specific stories to illustrate the wide range of work members of the interest group are conducting on the impact of human-animal interaction and aging. The members of this group represent the interdisciplinary nature of both gerontology and anthrozoology (i.e., the field of human-animal interaction). This episode will be comprised of two main topics: 1. The connections between gerontology and human-animal interaction and the establishment of the interest group in 2016; 2. Current work being conducted by members of the group around the world.
 
Selected Citations from the episode:
Ellingsen‐Dalskau, L. H., de Boer, B., & Pedersen, I. (2021). Comparing the care environment at farm‐based and regular day care for people with dementia in Norway—An observational study. Health & Social Care in the Community, 29(2), 506-514. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13113
Finnanger‐Garshol, B., Pedersen, I., Patil, G., Eriksen, S., & Ellingsen‐Dalskau, L. H. (2022). Emotional well‐being in people with dementia–A comparative study of farm‐based and regular day care services in Norway. Health & Social Care in the Community, 30(5), e1734-e1745. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13601
Friedmann, E., Gee, N. R., Simonsick, E. M., Barr, E., Resnick, B., Werthman, E., & Adesanya, I. (2023). Pet ownership and maintenance of physical function in older adults—Evidence from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA). Innovation in Aging, 7(1), igac080. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igac080
Rosteius, K., de Boer, B., Staudacher, S., Schols, J., & Verbeek, H. (2022). How the interrelated physical, social and organizational environment impacts daily life of residents with dementia on a Green Care Farm. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 946962. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.946962
Takase, M., Ogino, R., Yoshida, K., Kusu, H., Kenmochi, T., & Goto, J. (2021). Qualitative research on the primary effect of fish pet ownership using the bottleium, a bottle-type aquarium, on community-dwelling older adults in Japan: A potential preventive measure towards social isolation. Geriatrics, 6(1), 17. https://doi.org/10.3390/geriatrics6010017
    
Guests:
Nancy R. Gee, PhD, C-AISS, Professor of Psychiatry & Director of the Center for Human-Animal Interaction, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
Mai Takase, Researcher, Institute of Gerontology, The University of Tokyo
Ingeborg Pedersen, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Public Health Science, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU)
Katharina Rosteius, PhD Student, Department of Health Services Research, Care and Public Health Research Institute, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University
Co-Hosts: 
Jessica Bibbo, PhD, Senior Research Scientist, Center Research and Education, Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging (GSA Human-Animal Interaction Interest Group Convener)
Ashley Taeckens-Seabaugh, MSW, Former Research Fellow, Institute for Human-Animal Connection, Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver; Current Director of Research, Hope Squad