Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine and the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing are actively engaged in projects and studies that explore improvements in quality of life and quality of health care services for older adults. The interdisciplinary team received funding via an FAU research priority award for a longitudinal study that is focusing on the keys to successful aging in the older population in the South Florida region.
Joseph G. Ouslander, M.D., Chair of the Integrated Medical Science Department and Senior Associate Dean of Geriatric Programs in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine and Ruth Tappen, Ed.D., R.N., Eminent Scholar and Distinguished Professor from FAU’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing are leading the study, which includes investigators from eight colleges at FAU. The team is assessing older individuals from four ethnic groups— two immigrant and two nonimmigrant— who are living in older adult communities in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
The research team values the opportunity to immerse themselves in these communities to talk with and learn from four specific groups: fourth generation European-Americans and African-Americans and first generation Afro-Caribbean and Hispanic-Americans.
One hypothesis they are testing is whether immigrants tend to be healthier and more resilient than those who have lived in the United States for generations. The team is seeking answers to questions, such as:
- How does the impact of aging differ between cultures?
- How does it differ between immigrants and those who have been here for generations?
- Do diverse cultures have the same goals and the same wishes as they age, or are they different?
The study results will bring health care professionals a step closer to understanding the science of how people can live better and longer; what health care professionals can do to contribute to quality aging; and what older people and their caregivers can do to enhance the quality of their aging.
INTERACT and Healthy Aging Research Initiative (HARI) Project Directors:
Joseph. G. Ouslander, M.D. is the Chair of the Integrated Medical Science Department and Senior Associate Dean for Geriatric Programs in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, and Professor at the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing at Florida Atlantic University. Dr. Ouslander served as a Professor at UCLA for 15 years developing research, educational, and clinical programs. From 1996-2007 he served as the Director of Geriatric Medicine at Emory University. He is a past-President and Board Chair of the American Geriatrics Society, and serves as the Executive Editor of the society's Journal. He is a co-author of Essentials of Clinical Geriatrics and Medical Care in the Nursing Home, and an editor of Hazard's Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology.
Ruth Tappen, Ed.D., R.N., F.A.A.N. is an Eminent Scholar and a Distinguished Professor of Nursing in the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing at Florida Atlantic University. She is a nationally known scholar and researcher in aging, and has been funded by the NIH, HRSA, AoA, major foundations, and others. She served as FAU's acting Vice President of Research for two years and was the founder of the Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center at FAU, a state-designated memory disorder center. Her research has addressed a range of issues related to aging with emphasis on exercise, communication and cognitive retraining therapies. Her book, Advanced Nursing Research: From Theory to Practice, reflects her expertise in research design analysis and psychometric evaluation.