Aging in America Conference in San Francisco

A group of Eastern Washington University faculties and students from the Master of Public Health (MPH) and Master of Social work (MSW) program attended 2018 Aging in America conference in San Francisco. At the conference, Anna Tresidder, the MPH program director presented her research on the topic “Aging and Independent in Rural Places: A Photovoice Project with Rural Native Elders” at the conference.

Attending conferences help attendees improve their knowledge and skills in the field. Joel Reeves, a master of public health student who attended the conference shares his experience:

“The Aging in America conference, held by the American Society on Aging, was in San Francisco this year and consisted of four days of speakers, workshops, symposia, poster presentations, community field trips, and networking. With more than 1000 attendees from every field of aging, the program was organized with topics on The Managed Care Academy Series, Aging, Disability and Technology, Diversity and Cultures of Aging, Policy and Advocacy, Critical Issues in Elder Mistreatment and Elder Justice, Age-Friendly Livable Communities, and Brain Health Across the Spectrum.

“My particle path focused on tailoring programs to new populations, more specifically underserved minority populations. There are special considerations that need to be made when working with diverse cultures and practices that seem commonplace no us may be offensive, unacceptable, or even shameful to others. This also relates to other sessions discussing what growing old in America is looking like as the demographic makeup of the older adults is becoming more diverse but are also entering retirement age at lower and lower-income levels. There are some interesting and innovative approaches being taken to increase access to technology from incorporating free Wi-Fi networks into senior housing to including older adult groups in the design and testing of senior focus products. Representatives from Kauai Community Health shared their falls prevention strategies for their unique rural geography that include partnerships with the local hospital and public education campaigns. None of this includes the amazing keynote speakers that discussed senior poverty, livable communities, healthcare needs and capacity, elder abuse, and Alzheimer’s research.”

Also, Eastern Washington University emeritus professor Maria Hernandez-Peck received a national recognition award for her excellent work in the field of gerontology. During her acceptance speech, she acknowledged the work done by EWU’s MPH and MSW programs in the community.