Strong IMPACT presence at GSA Annual Conference begins with Long-term Care Cooperative workshop

The IMPACT Collaboratory will have a strong presence at the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) 2023 Annual Scientific Meeting, starting with a workshop by IMPACT multiple principal investigator Vincent Mor, PhD and colleagues.

The workshop entitled “The Long-Term Care Data Cooperative: Leveraging Nursing Home Electronic Health Records for Research,” will be held on the first day of GSA 2023, November 8.

The interactive workshop will enable attendees to learn how the LTC Data Cooperative is generating real-world evidence on treatments and care practices. They will receive access to explore sample data, gain a comprehensive understanding of the core data model, and learn how to request access for research purposes. In addition, interested attendees can apply for one-year "real world data scholars" training grants.

The Long-Term Care Data Cooperative is funded by the National Institute of Aging and aims to improve the quality of care within skilled nursing facilities by compiling the most comprehensive electronic health records data on nursing home residents nationwide.

The full conference will be held November 8-12, 2023, in Tampa, Florida and will include presentations by multiple IMPACT members throughout the conference. Register or learn more about the conference and workshop at gsa2023.org.

New report now available! Voices of the Lived Experience Panel: Health Equity in Dementia Care and Research

The 2022-2023 Lived Experience Panel Report Voices of the Lived Experience Panel: Health Equity in Dementia Care and Research, by IMPACT and LEP members including: María P. Aranda, Talha Ali, Willetha Barnette, Bart Brammer, Katie Brandt, Roberta Cruz, Monica Downer, Shekinah Fashaw-Walters, Darrell Foss, Lupita Gutierrez-Parker, Ladson Hinton, Freddye G. James, Gary Epstein-Lubow, Carolyn Malone, Karen O Moss, Katherine D. Peak, Judith S. Rocha, summarizes the overarching themes that emerged during four meetings of the NIA IMPACT Collaboratory’s Lived Experience Panel, the Health Equity Team, and the Engaging Partners Team. The goal of these discussions was to learn about Panel members’ lived experiences and insights related to health equity in dementia care and research practices.

Panel members shared their own experience living with dementia or mild cognitive impairment while others spoke as care partners or proxies. The report documents a conversational process among panelists. Two major concepts emerged. The first is that people living with Alzheimer’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) and their families have different experiences from one another. The second is that there is a need for a broad and inclusive plan to understand and address weaknesses within the systems of care in the United States, which are often fragmented and lack accountability for health equity.

Read the full report.

22-23 lived experience panel headshots of 7 people.

The 2022-2023 Lived Experience Panel Report, Voices of the Lived Experience Panel: Health Equity in Dementia Care and Research (English/Spanish)

October 3, 2023

Authors: María P. Aranda, PhD, MSW, MPA, LCSW, Talha Ali, Willetha Barnette, Bart Brammer, Katie Brandt, Roberta Cruz, Monica Downer, Shekinah Fashaw-Walters, Darrell Foss, Lupita Gutierrez-Parker, Ladson Hinton, MD, Freddye G. James, Gary Epstein-Lubow, MD, Carolyn Malone, MPH, Karen O. Moss, Katherine D. Peak, MPH, Judith S. Rocha

Description: This report summarizes the overarching themes that emerged during four meetings of the NIA IMPACT Collaboratory’s Lived Experience Panel, the Health Equity Team, and the Engaging Partners Team. The goal of these discussions was to learn about Panel members’ lived experiences and insights related to health equity in dementia care and research practices.

Read the full report here. Read the Spanish translated version here.

Citation: Aranda MP, Ali T, Barnette W, Brammer B, Brandt K, Cruz R, Downer M, Fashaw-Walters S, Foss D, Gutierrez-Parker L, Hinton L, James FG, Epstein-Lubow G, Malone C, Michael C, Moss K, Peak KD, Rocha JS. 2022-2023 Lived Experience Panel Report: Voices of the Lived Experience Panel: Health Equity in Dementia Care and Research. NIA IMPACT Collaboratory; 2023. doi: 10.58234/23680579
Health Equity LEP Report - English Version
Click to view Spanish LEP Report | Health Equity

NPR interviews HET leader Maria Aranda on why Latinos need to be involved in clinical trials

IMPACT Health Equity Team leader Maria Aranda, PhD, MSW  was featured in a segment on NPRs Morning Edition on September 18, 2023.  In the segment,  NPR’s A Martínez spoke with Dr. Aranda, of the USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging, and Mario Tapia, founder of the Latino Center, about quality of care issues once a dementia diagnosis is made . They discussed the cultural considerations in caring for Latino patients with dementia including the importance of language, food and music and the need for culturally competent nursing home staff working with Latino patients living with dementia.

Listen to the full interview.