From Idea to Intervention

Summer Institute Offers Research Training for Older Adult Care

by Kelly Brooks

One in every eight Americans is aged 65 years or older and, by 2030, it is expected to be one in five. As the number of older Americans increases, healthcare providers and researchers must understand and address the needs of this growing population.

A new, three-day training program at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, the Summer Research Institute on Developing Behavioral Interventions, does just that. The program, offered by the School of Nursing’s Center for Innovative Care in Aging, is June 14–16, 2012, in Baltimore, Maryland.

At the Institute, researchers will create and test novel interventions—efforts that change patient behavior, improve self-management, and promote better health and quality of life—and can eventually be implemented in diverse healthcare environments for older adults. They will also learn from intervention experts through lectures, small-group consultation, and one-on-one collaboration.

“The program is designed for researchers and health professionals from any discipline who seek to create and test an intervention to help older adults, their family members, or communities live healthier lives,” says Laura N. Gitlin, PhD, director of the Center for Innovative Care in Aging. She notes that junior faculty, post-doctoral students, researchers, or investigators with limited experience in health-related behavioral intervention research will benefit most from participating.