Health Care Research and Provision Among Older Adult Groups Historically Underrepresented in Research

Chair(s)

• 

  Aneeka Ratnayake, PhD (she/her/hers)

  Postdoctoral Research Fellow Roux Institute
  Health Sciences
  Roux Institute at Northeastern University
  Portland, Maine, United States

Discussant(s)

• 

  Mark Brennan-Ing, PhD, FGSA (they/them/theirs)

  Director of Research and Evaluation
  Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging
  Hunter College, CUNY
  New York City, New York, United States

Individual Symposium Abstract First Author(s)

• NP

  Narcissa Plummer, MPH

  Research Graduate Student
  Health Sciences
  Northeastern University
  Boston, Massachusetts, United States
• 

  Chelsea Wong, MD (she/her/hers)

  Postdoctoral Fellow
  Translational Research in Aging Program
  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
  Brookline, Massachusetts, United States
• 

  Aneeka Ratnayake, PhD (she/her/hers)

  Postdoctoral Research Fellow Roux Institute
  Health Sciences
  Roux Institute at Northeastern University
  Portland, Maine, United States

In this symposium we will discuss research focusing on minority populations who are often under-represented in research. We will focus on research among three groups broadly: racial and ethnic minority groups, sexual and gender minority groups, and patients in low- and middle-income countries. Our first presentation will discuss enrollment of racial and ethnic minority groups in the All of Us Research Program—a program aimed at oversampling those under-represented in research in the United States. The generalizability of those living with HIV captured in the All of Us database will be ascertained as compared to the overall population living with HIV in the United States. The second presentation will discuss whether issues of potentially inappropriate medication prescriptions are different for sexual and gender minority older adults compared to cisgender heterosexual older adults. In this presentation, disparities in potentially inappropriate medication prescriptions among this population will be highlighted. The final presentation will discuss correlates of physical activity among older adults with and without HIV in Uganda. In this presentation the contextual differences for studying physical activity among older adults in the Global South will be discussed. Together, these presentations highlight the need to consider vulnerabilities of populations under-represented in research and especially in older adults. Though specific emphasis will be placed on three under-represented groups, the overarching goal of this symposium is to emphasize the impact of prioritizing representation, intersectionality, and identity when conducting gerontological research and providing healthcare to older adults.

HIV, AIDS and Older Adults Interest Group Sponsored Symposium

Presentations:

• 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM PST

  Assessing the Generalizability of the People Living With HIV in The All of Us Database
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Narcissa Plummer, MPH – Northeastern University
• 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM PST

  Potentially Inappropriate Central Nervous System Medication Prescribing Among Sexual and Gender Minority Adults
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Chelsea Wong, MD (she/her/hers) – Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
• 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM PST

  Physical Activity Among Older Adults With and Without HIV in Uganda: Cohort Study in Rural Uganda
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Aneeka Ratnayake, PhD (she/her/hers) – Roux Institute at Northeastern University