News & Highlights
Don't Miss the Aging Exchange!
The Third Annual Aging Exchange: Education, Research and Service at the UNC at Chapel Hill Campus will be held on January 24, 2006 from 1:00 to 7:00 pm at the Friday Center in Chapel Hill. Prizes will be awarded in paper and poster categories at the graduate student and post-doctoral fellow levels. The deadline for submission of abstracts is Friday, January 6. Dr. Robert H. Binstock, Professor of Aging, Health and Society at Case Western Reserve University, will present the distinguished lecture, 'Anti-Aging Medicine and Science: an Arena of Conflict and Profound Societal Implications'. See the Aging Exchange web page for more information.
IOA Appoints Associate Director for Research
Jennifer Craft Morgan, Ph.D., has been appointed to the Senior Administrative Staff of the Institute, effective November 1, 2005. Jennifer has been with the Institute for several years, working as a research assistant and project coordinator while completing her doctorate in sociology. In her capacity as a Research Scientist she has assumed major responsibility for research coordination in several IOA projects. She will continue in this role but as Associate Director for Research, she assumes wider responsibilities to stimulate new research development, assist others in the IOA to develop research, and develop her own research program. The position of Associate Director for Research had been held by Dr. Carol Hogue until her retirement, and the duties had been assumed by the IOA Director. This appointment represents a continuing growth in our efforts to increase the research activities of the Institute.
Activities of the IOA Director
Victor Marshall, IOA Director, has been appointed to the Research Advisory Committee of the Center on Aging & Work/Workplace Flexibility, at Boston College. He has also been appointed to the advisory board for the Aging and Business Education Initiative of the AARP Office of Academic Affairs.
Gender, Race & Class Fact Sheet Updated
The IOA fact sheet, "Gender, Race & Class: Enduring Inequities in Later Life: A North Carolina Perspective", initially published in 2000, has been revised and updated by the UNC Institute on Aging Information Center staff. In its previous version, this very popular publication was downloaded well over 2000 times. View the revised document.
4th Annual NCCOA Attracts 400
Four hundred conference attendees were treated to an excellent program and excellent weather at the NC Conference on Aging held Oct 19 - 21 at the the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center and the Sheraton Grand Hotel. The theme for this year's conference was Research and Practice for Well-being in an Aging Society. The program included 64 separate breakout sessions, a film festival, and 3 plenary sessions. Jim Firman, EdD, President and CEO of the National Council on the Aging opened the conference; Eleanor Ginzler, with AARP, was the luncheon speaker on the 20th and Linda George, PhD, Associate Director for the Study of Aging and Human Development at Duke University, was the closing speaker. Next year's conference is planned for October 25-27 at the Sheraton Imperial in Research Triangle Park. This will be a special event because it will also coincide with the Institute on Aging's 10th Anniversary. Mark your calendars now!
Elderly Should Get Flu Shots
The Immunization Branch of the NC DHHS offers this reminder for seniors and those who work with them. As the year winds to a close, the influenza season is just getting started. The average flu season in North Carolina runs from October through April and often peaks in February or March. The good news is: it’s not too late to vaccinate! The flu is much worse than the common cold. Adults 65 and older are particularly at risk for developing serious complications from the flu, which may result in hospitalization or even death. The best way to prevent the flu is to get vaccinated each fall. The flu shot cannot give you the flu. It can protect you from serious illness. For more information, or to schedule a flu shot, contact your doctor today, or visit www.immunizenc.com.
Good News for NC Colleagues
Dr. Gracie Boswell, an IOA Research Scientist, has had an article from her dissertation accepted for publication in the Journal of Religion and Health. "Spirituality and healthy lifestyle behaviors: Stress counter-balancing effects on the well-being of older adults" will appear in an upcoming issue of the journal.
Employment Opportunities
The University of Georgia College of Public Health announces three tenure-track Assistant Professor positions available beginning in the fall, 2006. The Institute of Gerontology recruits faculty members in aging within the College of Public Health. Visit the employment opportunities page for more information. The UGA Department of Foods and Nutrition is also searching for an Assistant Professor with a focus on aging and chronic disease.
Aging & Health Promotion News
The National Resource Center on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Aging, maintained by Florida International University, promotes active healthy aging by working to reduce nutrition risk among older adults, especially minorities with health disparities. With funding primarily from the US Administration on Aging, the Center assists Older Americans Act Nutrition Programs including 4000+ Title III local providers, 655 area agencies on aging, 57 state units on aging, and 233 tribes and tribal organizations of American Indians and Alaskan Natives and 2 organizations of Native Hawaiians under Title VI.
Featured Web Site
Positive Aging Resource Center (PARC)
positiveaging.org
The Positive Aging Resource Center (PARC) was established in 2002 as part of the Targeted Capacity Expansion (TCE) initiative of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to improve the quality of mental health care and service delivery for older adults. PARC serves as a resource to older adults and caregivers, health and social service professionals, and policy makers.
This web site and others have been selected for inclusion in AgeLib, the IOA's Digital Library of aging resources. Search AGELIB now.New Library Resources
These are selected new additions to the AgeLib Digital Library. The links below will open a new window displaying the AgeLib record.
Encouraging choice in work and retirement: project report
view the record
Living to 100 and beyond: search for predictors of exceptional human longevity
view the record
Quality of long term care: nutrition as a critical dimension
view the record
Reinventing the retirement paradigm
view the record
New & Notable
Bolda, Elise J.; Lowe, Jane Isaacs; Maddox, George L.; Patnaik, Beverly S. (2005). Community partnerships for older adults: A case study. Families in Society 86(3): 411-18.
George, Linda K. (2005). Socioeconomic status and health across the life course: progress and prospects. Journals of Gerontology 60B (Special Issue II): 135-39.
Marshall, Victor W. (2005). Agency, events and structure at the end of the life course. In: Towards an interdisciplinary perspective on the life course (Advances in Life Course Research, vol. 10). Elsevier. pp. 57-91.
O'Rand, Angela M.; Hamil-Luker, Jenifer. (2005). Processes of cumulative adversity: childhood disadvantage and increased risk of heart attack across the life course. Journals of Gerontology 60B (Special Issue II): 117-24.
Shenk, Dena; Groger, Lisa. (2005). Introduction: Aging education in a global context. Gerontology & Geriatrics Education 26(1): 1-7. Dena Shenk,
Dementia care and quality of life in assisted living and nursing homes. (October 2005). The Gerontologist 45 (Special Issue I). Features a dozen articles co-authored by UNC scholars.
For a list of items recently published by North Carolina faculty, see New & Notable Publications.
Upcoming Events in NC
December 1, 2005 Seminar Series (ECRA)
Disentangling race and socioeconomic status
Thomas LaVeist, School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University
10-11:30 am, The Hooker Research Center, UNC School of Public Health,
Blue Cross Blue Shield Auditorium, Ground Floor
December 1, 2005
UNC School of Medicine Program on Aging Lecture Series
Impact of Oral Health on the Lives of Older Adults
Allen Samuelson, DDS, UNC School of Dentistry
12:00-12:50 p.m., Room 106 Berryhill
December 5, 2005
2005 Carol Hogue Distinguished Lectureship
Care of Older Adults: Nursing's Core Business
Mathy Mezey, EdD, RN, FAAN
3:30 PM, Durham Hilton, 3800 Hillsborough Road, Durham, NC
RSVP by November 28, 2005 to amelia.howle@duke.edu or 919-667-2529
December 8, 2005 Seminar Series (CPHAR)
Implications of Changing Disability for Health Care Expenditures in the US
Sally Stearns and Edward Norton, UNC Dept. of Health Policy and Administration
10-11:30 am, UNC Institute on Aging, 2nd floor conference room
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development Distinguished Guest Lecture Series
Geriatric Depression: A Duke Perspective
David C. Steffens, MD
12:00–1:00 pm, Rauch Conference Room, #15103, Morris Building, White Zone, Duke Clinics
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