Program Area: Social Research, Policy, and Practice
Debra Dobbs, PhD, FGSA
Associate Professor, Academic Director, Center for Hospice, Palliative and End-of-Life Studies
School of Aging Studies
University of South Florida
Tampa, Florida, United States
Larry Polivka, PhD, FGSA
Claude Pepper Center on Aging
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida, United States
Louisa Holaday, MD MHS (she/her/hers)
Assistant Professor
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
New York, New York, United States
Tetyana Shippee, PhD, FGSA
Associate Professor
Health Policy and Management
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Pamela B. Teaster Teaster, PhD, M.A., M.S.
Professor & Director
Center for Gerontology
Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University
BLACKSBURG, Virginia, United States
Pamela Nadash, PhD, BPhil
Associate Professor
Gerontology
University of Massachusetts Boston
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
The pandemic further exacerbated racial and ethnic health disparities with BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) communities experiencing significantly higher infection rates and higher hospitalization rates compared to White populations. Underlying medical conditions that disproportionately affect BIPOC populations (e.g., cardiovascular disease, diabetes, COPD) and social determinants of health (income, community and environmental factors, access to health care and job security) can account in large part for increased rates of morbidity and mortality. Within the long term services and supports (LTSS) continuum, health disparities exist in both who receives and provides care. The four papers in this Social Research Policy and Practice Presidential Symposium will highlight factors that result in health disparities across the LTSS continuum and propose possible policy and practice solutions to address the disparities. The first paper presented will be an overview of existing nursing home workforce issues that continue to impact disparities in the quality of resident care. The second paper presented examines nursing home resident quality of life disparities from a measurement perspective. The third paper will highlight issues on elder abuse and mistreatment of rural elders, American Indian and Alaskan Natives. The fourth paper will present recommendations from key stakeholders of the RAISE Family Caregiving Advisory Council on how to meet the needs of underrepresented groups (AAPI, BIPOC, Indigenous peoples) of family caregivers. Policy and practice solutions to reduce disparities will be discussed.
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Louisa Holaday, MD MHS (she/her/hers) – Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Tetyana P. Shippee, PhD, FGSA – University of Minnesota
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Pamela B. Teaster B. Teaster, PhD, M.A., M.S. – Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Pamela Nadash, PhD, BPhil – University of Massachusetts Boston