As Utah’s population ages— projections show more than 20% of residents aged 65 and older by 2060—the University of Utah’s College of Nursing (CON) is addressing the evolving needs of older adults through its innovative Gerontology Interdisciplinary Program.
Faculty research spans the lifespan, from promoting healthy aging to addressing complex health conditions. By emphasizing the needs of older adults and their support networks, CON research will help ensure Utah’s aging population receives care and recognition as valued members of society. This work improves health outcomes, supports caregivers, and enhances quality of life for older adults and their families.
“It’s rewarding to represent older adults in research that reduces marginalization and recognizes their right to be seen as relevant members of society,” says Katerina Friberg Felsted, PhD, assistant dean for gerontology. Her research demonstrates that mindfulness-based techniques effectively reduce symptom severity and are well- received, even among the oldest participants.
The CON’s gerontology program attracts students from across the University of Utah, thanks
to the wide-ranging research conducted by faculty. This emphasis on diverse research streams contributes to the program’s reputation within gerontology education.
“What distinguishes this program is the breadth of the research and how we cross the lifespan,” says CON professor Kathie Supiano, PhD. “From how healthy older adults function, through disease processes, through location of care like nursing homes, to the extreme end, death, and bereavement.”
ADVANCING GERONTOLOGY THROUGH RESEARCH AND INNOVATION
CON gerontology researchers are advancing the field by building on a long history of impactful work. They focus on improving health outcomes for older adults, such as discovering new ways to manage chronic conditions, identifying strategies to support mental health, and helping older adults and caregivers navigate challenging life transitions.
For example, faculty have developed mindfulness-based techniques for managing
urinary incontinence, created augmented reality activities to combat loneliness, and designed tools to aid advance care planning for individuals with dementia. These efforts improve quality of life and inform policies and practices that shape care for aging populations.
Additionally, researchers often collaborate with community organizations, fostering partnerships that enhance student learning and placement opportunities.
“Our community partners are very involved,” says Jacqueline Eaton, PhD, associate professor at the CON. “It’s led to fantastic partnerships that have helped our educational programs and student placements.”
Such collaborations provide essential opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience while supporting impactful research initiatives.
The U, designated as an Age- Friendly University, fosters a welcoming environment for older students. Gerontology research plays a critical role in ensuring the university’s research agenda reflects the needs of an aging society. Faculty members are dedicated to advancing public discourse, improving care practices, and addressing the unique challenges faced by older adults and their families.
“We have a large amount of ongoing research in gerontology, and our faculty are actively engaged in the promotion
of public discourse and communication regarding the needs of older adults,” Eaton said.
SUPPORTING CAREGIVERS: TOOLS AND INSIGHTS
By design, gerontology research isn’t solely focused on older adults. As people age, they often require a network of caregivers and supporters to meet their needs.
“Aging requires a care network,” says Kara Dassel, PhD. “You’ve got to look at an older adult’s social support systems: their family, neighbors, and doctors.”
This network often includes interdisciplinary health care workers who play a crucial role in supporting well-being.
To help combat loneliness, Cathy Maxwell, PhD, the Robert L. and Joyce T. Rice Presidential Endowed Chair in Healthy Aging, created augmented-reality activities for long-term-care residents and distant family members. Participants wore HoloLens headsets, giving the sensation that they were sitting together, playing checkers, or chatting.
“We’re interested in the effect that the [research] has on measures of quality of life,” says Maxwell. “We see it as a potential way to link residents with their loved ones,” she says.
Gail Towsley, PhD, created Me & My Wishes to explore current and end-of-life care preferences for people with dementia who live in assisted living or nursing home communities. Researchers recorded residents talking about their care preferences, then shared the videos with relatives and staff.
“Viewing the videos led to increased conversations about resident preferences among family and staff and increased congruence of their knowledge of resident end-of-life preferences,” says Towsley.
Dassel’s research focuses on advance care planning for patients with early-stage dementia to help families understand someone’s care goals once they’re incapable of decision-making. Because no dementia-specific resource existed, her team developed the Life-Planning in Early Alzheimer’s and Dementia (LEAD) Guide.
"Our research showed that values and preferences differ from other diseases, like cancer or congestive heart failure, because of the diminished cognitive ability and losing your sense of self,” says Dassel.
Eaton’s research uses ethnodrama to enhance well- being for caregivers of patients with dementia. She created video vignettes, a research- based play developed from qualitative research conducted with caregivers in the broader community.
Caroline Stephens, PhD, the Helen Lowe Bamberger Colby Presidential Chair in Nursing, leads the Utah Caregiving Population Science, which developed a groundbreaking dataset to analyze family networks during end-of-life care.
Stephens says it’s “the only population-based, family-linked dataset in the United States to characterize the structure of family networks during end-of-life. [It] provides an unparalleled opportunity to examine family caregiving across diseases, conditions and care settings and track health changes in families before and after the death of a family member.”
This research sheds light on how caregiving affects families, identifies ways to better support caregivers, and explores strategies to improve family well-being during and after end- of-life transitions.
As I age, I have a great deal of hope for the future and how older adults are treated in society and health care.
A UNIFIED MISSION FOR AGING POPULATIONS
Although researchers study distinct aspects of gerontology, there’s a common goal: improving quality of life for older adults and their families.
“Ten to 20 percent of those grieving the death of a family member with dementia experience a state of complicated, ineffective mourning known as prolonged grief,” says Supiano, director of Caring Connections, a bereavement care program. “We have an opportunity to help people prepare for a life without the person.”
“As I age, I have a great deal of hope for the future and how older adults are treated in society and health care,” says Linda Edelman, PhD, co-director of the Utah Geriatric Education Consortium. By connecting efforts across disciplines, CON researchers are helping shape a future where aging populations and their families are supported in every stage of life.
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