Innovations in Aging Research Webinar Series

The Innovations in Aging Research (IAR) Webinar Series aims to improve the quality of life of older adults by delivering timely resources, innovative topics and the latest research to professionals, caregivers, and older individuals. The series will provide information about wellness, successful aging, caregiving, trends in gerontology and geriatric rehabilitation medicine to provide quality caring practices for our aging population.

UPCOMING WEBINAR

From Claims to Community: Investigating Inequities in Rehabilitation Utilization and Outcomes Among Older Adults Living with a New Disability

Date: 10 April 2023

Time: 4:00 PM ET

Presenters:

Jennifer Brach, PhD, PT, FAPTA
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences,
Faculty Affairs and Development;
University of Pittsburgh, Department of Physical Therapy

AND

Jason Falvey, PhD, DPT, PT
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health,
University of Maryland School of Medicine

Rehabilitation among older adults is a diverse field of practice. With the multitude of ways rehabilitation can be utilized to address disability in older adults and the equally numerous outcomes that comes with it, it is challenging for clinicians and researchers to bridge the gap between research and clinical practice. Community inequities in rehabilitation is one of the most challenging aspects of this field as it comes with several factors that can pull clinician-researchers both ways and still come up with near-miss research approaches and methods. This webinar will offer some insight to address these matters and help clinician-researchers have a better view of the issues and learn some tricks on the trade.

Duration

60 minutes (1 hour)

Learning Objectives

1. Apply individual and neighborhood levels of social and economic vulnerability to rehabilitation-related questions

2. Examine how neighborhood context impacts disability recovery experiences for older adults

3. Learn about new NIA funded resources that help facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations among aging-focused clinician researchers

About the Presenters

Dr. Falvey is a physical therapist and clinician-scientist with expertise using Medicare claims and national survey data to evaluate functional recovery, aging in place, and healthcare utilization among older adults recovering from acute hospitalization. He is the second physical therapist to be funded by a Paul B. Beeson Emerging Leaders Career Development Award (K76) from the National Institute on Aging. His research on economic and social disparities in health outcomes among older adults has recently been published in high impact journals and his clinical and research expertise has been featured in news outlets such as the Washington Post. Dr. Falvey is a board-certified clinical specialist in geriatric physical therapy with years of experience in home health care settings. He is an active clinical practitioner at the Baltimore Veterans Administration Hospital and an assistant professor in the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health.

Dr. Jennifer Brach is a physical therapist and epidemiologist with over 20 years of experience in patient-oriented research in aging and disability prevention. Dr. Brach’s current work focuses on developing, testing, and implementing exercise programs to improve mobility in community-dwelling older adults. Her long-term goal is to bridge the gap between clinical research, public health, and everyday practice by transferring the findings from clinical trials to practice settings and communities. She has demonstrated a strong commitment to a career in research, publishing over 130 peer-reviewed manuscripts. She was the first non-physician to receive the prestigious Paul Beeson Career Development Award in Aging from the National Institute on Aging (NIA). Dr. Brach has also served as a principal investigator or co-investigator on multiple NIA and PCORI grants. She is currently a member of the Leadership Core of the Clinician-Scientists Transdisciplinary Aging Research (Clin-STAR) Coordinating Center.

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