ESPO and Social Research, Policy, and Practice Section Symposium: Going the Extra Mile: How Pioneering Gerontologists Translate Research to Policy and Practice

Chair(s)

• 

  Taylor Jansen, PhD (she/her/hers)

  Post Doctoral Fellow
  Department of Gerontology
  University of Massachusetts Boston
  Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Co-Chair(s)

• SB

  Sara Bybee, PhD, LCSW (she/her/hers)

  Research Assistant Professor
  College of Nursing
  University of Utah College of Nursing
  Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

Discussant(s)

• 

  Jennifer Greenfield, PhD, MSW (she/her/hers)

  Associate Dean for Doctoral Education & Associate Professor
  University of Denver
  Denver, Colorado, United States

Individual Symposium Abstract First Author(s)

• 

  Kina White, DrPH, MHSA, FACHE (she/her/hers)

  Director, Office of Community Health Improvement
  Office of Community Health Improvement
  Mississippi State Department of Health
  Jackson, Mississippi, United States

  Slides
• HD

  Howard Degenholtz, PhD, FGSA (he/him/his)

  Professor
  Health Policy and Management
  University of Pittsburgh
  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
• SZ

  Sheryl Zimmerman, PhD, FGSA

  Distinguished Professor
  Program on Aging, and Center for Excellence in Assisted Living (CEAL@UNC)
  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC)
  Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States

Gerontologists must have fortitude to take the extra step in translating research to end-users like community stakeholders, policymakers, and older adults; Otherwise, research can be futile. In this symposium, participants will hear from speakers who have engaged in translational research from the local to federal levels. Dr. Kina White, from the Mississippi State Department of Health will speak to her successful dissemination efforts informing state policymakers and health professionals of recent research conducted on older Mississippians. Dr. White personally mailed a copy of the research to each mayor in Mississippi, an excellent example of fortitude. Another state-level example will come from Dr. Howard Degenholtz, a Professor at the University of Pittsburg, who recently worked with the Pennsylvania Department of Aging to facilitate a statewide needs assessment survey using the Age Friendly Communities Framework, which helped develop a 10-year plan for the Pennsylvania Department of Aging. Finally, Dr. Sheryl Zimmerman, University of North Carolina (UNC) Distinguished Professor and Executive Director of the national Center for Excellence in Assisted Living (CEAL@UNC) will discuss CEAL's role to advance excellence through stronger connections between research, practice, and policy, and related advocacy at the federal level. Overall, the aim of this symposium is to answer the “so what” question that many students and researchers are presented with and motivate gerontologists to broaden their dissemination and advocacy efforts to have the most positive impact on our society, whether in research, policy, or practice.

Presentations:

• 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM PST

  Advancing Healthy Aging Through Public Health Policy and Practice in Mississippi
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Kina White, DrPH, MHSA, FACHE (she/her/hers) – Mississippi State Department of Health
• 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM PST

  Using Data to Drive Policy: An Example of a State–University Partnership to Advance Age-Friendly Communities
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Howard B. Degenholtz, PhD, FGSA (he/him/his) – University of Pittsburgh
• 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM PST

  Using the Platform of a National Center to Integrate Research, Practice, and Policy: CEAL@UNC
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Sheryl Zimmerman, PhD, FGSA – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC)