Joint Keynote 1
Aging Well in the United States and Chile: Innovations and Opportunities
9:30am Eastern Standard Time

Laura N. Gitlin, PhD

Laura N. Gitlin, PhD, an applied research sociologist, is the dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professions at Drexel University. Gitlin is nationally and internationally recognized for her research on developing, evaluating and implementing novel home and community-based interventions that: improve quality of life of for people living with dementia and caregivers, enhance daily function and health outcomes of older adults with functional challenges and address mental health disparities for Black/African American older adults. She is a well-funded researcher, having received continuous research and training grants from federal agencies and private foundations for over 35 years. In all of her research, she applies a social ecological perspective and person—family-directed and centered-approach to understand, intervene and support individuals within their living contexts. Her efforts involve collaborating with community organizations, health and human service professionals and other stakeholders to maximize relevance and impact of such interventions. She is also involved in translating, disseminating and implementing her and her teams proven programs for delivery in diverse practice settings globally and in the United States.

Jean Gajardo, PhD, OT.

Jean Gajardo, PhD, OT. is a researcher at the Faculty of Caring Sciences in Health, Universidad San Sebastián, Chile and a Associate Professor at the Department of Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science, University of Chile. His research interests involve population health and aging, psychosocial aspects of dementia, and the development, implementation, adaptation, and scaling-up of psychosocial interventions in health and wellbeing of older adults. He has been part of the design and implementation of relevant initiatives for dementia care in Chile, such as day care centers and a National Plan of Dementia.

Joint Keynote 2
Traditional Japanese crafts in the context of a super aging phenomena
10:45am Eastern Standard Time

Shushi Yoshinaga

Associate Professor of Graphic Design, leading a reciprocal ICA, collaborating with Tamagawa University in Japan for 10-years, Shushi Yoshinaga became an enthusiastic advocate for Japanese traditional crafts, their process and aging awareness. Her latest collaboration research project with Dr. Kristine Mulhorn from CNHP “Re-examining Patient-Centered Care through Design Process” received the Drexel Areas of Research Excellence (DARE) funding. During Shushi’s sabbatical she interviewed a number of Japanese artisans and brought to light the essence of well-being of older people. Her findings also raised challenging questions related to the future of Japanese crafts tradition due to the super aging phenomena.

Kristine Mulhorn, PhD, MHSA, FGSA

Kristine Mulhorn, PhD, MHSA, FGSA, professor and department chair, is an instructor in health administration with extensive background in aging, disability and functioning and community-based participatory research in urban settings. She has been a visiting scholar in Japan and in France. She has taught at both the undergraduate and graduate levels in health administration, long-term care administration, global health, health policy, gerontology, disability studies, biostatistics and research methods. As a Fulbright scholar, she taught aging policy in China. In Winter term, she taught a course for the Pennoni Honors College on Aging Policy in Asia that included a global classroom with Korea. Her most recent research project is a collaboration with Prof. Shushi Yoshinaga in Westphal to apply design methods to improve the patient experience for older persons seeking health care.