The Roger and Flo Lipitz Center to Advance Policy in Aging and Disability

Advanced Care Planning (ACP) is a communication process that helps individuals to understand and share their personal values, life goals, and preferences for future medical care, helping to avoid costly, burdensome end-of-life care. Primary care?is an important setting for advance care planning, especially for older adults, due to longstanding and trusted relationships with clinicians, the frequent periodicity of visits, and because older adults prefer their primary care clinician to initiate such conversations.? With support from the National Institute on Ageing and in close partnership with Johns Hopkins Community Physicians?and MedStar Health System, the Center developed a series of Advanced Care Planning communications resources and strategies for use in primary care settings, to better reach and serve older adults, including those who are living with cognitive impairment or dementia. We then undertook two studies, SHARE and SHARING CHOICES, to measure their efficacy. Learn more about our key recommendations: https://lnkd.in/exaqP54K

Health Affairs' Senior Deputy Editor Rob Lott?interviews?Johns Hopkins BSPH Department of Health Policy and Management Professor Jennifer Wolff about her recent paper that explores the increasing number of?family caregivers that are assisting older US adults, including adults with dementia. "The success of medical and technological advances that are leading people to live much longer lives make it increasingly important and necessary to understand and improve the experiences and capacity of the family caregiving workforce." -Jennifer Wolff Listen to the full podcast episode: https://lnkd.in/ewuQ3hqg

Submissions for abstracts and workshops are now open for the 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA)! The next annual scientific meeting of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) will take place in November 2025 in Boston, MA. Submissions for abstracts and workshops are now open through March 13, 2025. This is a great chance to present your research to over 4,500 attendees from more than 36 countries; have your research published in Innovation in Aging, a fully Open Access online journal of the Gerontological Society of America; potentially have your research covered by notable media outlets; and more. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eUnYx-eP

Manuscript submissions are due April 1. https://lnkd.in/erDZh22u OUP Academic

GSA team members just conducted a series of visits to New England colleges and universities as part of the run-up to our Annual Scientific Meeting in Boston. They met with graduate students, postdocs, fellows, and trainees to reinforce the value of gerontology and the importance of engaging with professional membership societies to advance their careers and strengthen the field. During some visits, CEO James Appleby also had the opportunity to meet with the provost or president to reinforce the value of the aging-related research and education programs on campus. With thanks to Marilyn Gugliucci, Dr. Tamara Baker, Gena Schoen, Diane Petrilli, Ken Campellone, Nina Silverstein, Edward Miller, Ellen Birchander, Carrie Andreoletti, Andrea June, Rick Fortinsky, Blanka Rogina, George Kuchel, Laura Donorfio, Lisa Barry, Brian Chapman, Ed.D., University of Connecticut, The University of Connecticut Health Center, University of Connecticut Center on Aging, Central Connecticut State University, Northeastern University, Boston College, UMass Boston, Brown University, Boston University, and more!

Join Boston University School of Medicine Adjunct Assistant Professor Melissa Wachterman for a talk about end stage renal disease and hospice policy entitled "Oil & Water in Medicare? Hospice and Dialysis Near the End of Life." This event will be hosted by the Contextual Factors in Aging Working Group on Thursday, February 6th from 12-1 PM EST at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in Room N530T & via Zoom. Lunch will be served at 11:50 AM. Please email [email protected] to register. Learn more about the Contextual Factors in Aging Working Group: https://lnkd.in/eQpn99tq

The Judith Dellinger Kasper Dissertation Award supports methodologically rigorous dissertation research that informs policies?to improve care and well-being of vulnerable older populations and their families, in honor of the scientific contributions of Kasper. Eligible applicants include doctoral candidates from any division of the University whose proposed dissertation research is thematically aligned with the endowment. Priority is given to survey-based research, including studies that draw on the National Health and Aging Trends Study and/or the National Study of Caregiving. Primary data collection and qualitative analyses will also be considered. Grant recipients must be committed to starting their dissertation research during Summer 2025 and working on the project for 12-17 months. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eXPBgcid

Meet Lipitz Center Student Fellow Rohini Achal! Rohini Achal currently works with the Center’s investigators on a multi-year study to advance the capacity of the National Family Caregiver and Native American Caregiver Support Programs to better recognize and support family caregivers. As a fellow, she hopes to pursue research on the needs, experiences, and health outcomes of underrepresented caregiver and care recipient populations such as youth/young adult caregivers and caregivers to adults with understudied disabilities. Rohini ultimately seeks to translate this knowledge into evidence-based aging and disability policies that support a nationwide caregiving support system. Learn more about our fellows: https://lnkd.in/e8_N-CNW Learn more about Rohini's degree program: https://lnkd.in/e9Jgyd32

Meet Lipitz Center Student Fellow Sanika Kulkarni! Sanika Kulkarni is a current MHS candidate in the Health Economics & Outcomes Research program interested in the health economics and financing behind long-term and end-of-life care. Originally from the Bay Area, CA, Sanika grew up watching her parents learn to meet the complex needs of her grandparents as caregivers. After graduating from the George Washington University with a BS in Public Health and minors in Applied Mathematics and Bioinformatics, Sanika worked at a federal consulting firm that focused on public health informatics and social determinants of health where she became curious how she could use informatics to answer health economics questions for aging populations. Currently, Sanika works on a scoping review on credit scores and health with Catherine Ettman, PhD and on the CARE Environmental Scan project. Learn more about our fellows: https://lnkd.in/e8_N-CNW Learn more about Sanika's degree program: https://lnkd.in/eQAFnxEc

Meet Lipitz Center Student Fellow Abigayle Burnett! Abigayle Burnett is an MSPH student in the Department of Health Policy and Management. Abigayle currently volunteers as a Friendly Caller with the Red Cross, providing social support to isolated seniors. Abigayle is also involved in the Maryland Department of Aging's Longevity Ready Maryland initiative, supporting the development of recommendations to address challenges in the direct care workforce. Passionate about social determinants of health, Abigayle is eager to apply evidence-based research to health policy. She looks forward to collaborating with mentors and peers during the Fellowship to help advance efforts that improve the quality of life for older adults. Learn more about our fellows: https://lnkd.in/e8_N-CNW Learn more about Abigayle's degree program: https://lnkd.in/e9Jgyd32