New Center For Sunshine Aims To Build Aging Resilience

America's organization is nan oldest it has ever been. And though older group are much independent than ever, they look a immense attraction gap, 1 that challenges families, communities and healthcare systems. 

Enter nan Center for Seniors Uniting Nationwide to Support Health, INtegrated care, and Economics, known arsenic nan Center for SUNSHINE, an interdisciplinary collaboration funded by a $901,000 assistance from nan National Institute connected Aging (NIA) for nan first 2 years to found nan center, pinch nan imaginable for up to six years of support. 

Co-led by nan University of Maryland School of Public Health (UMD SPH) and nan University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), nan Center for SUNSHINE will service arsenic a nationalist hub for interdisciplinary research, training and real-world invention to fortify resilience successful aging populations. The center, outlined successful a study successful nan American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry this month, draws from 50 years of danasiwa astatine UMD's Center connected Aging and nan computational invention and objective partnerships enabled by nan University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing (UM-IHC). 

"Our eventual extremity is happy, patient and well-supported aging for everyone," said Dr. Jie Chen, professor and chair of nan Department of Health Policy and Management, and head of nan Center connected Aging and nan Hospital And Public wellness interdisciPlinarY investigation (HAPPY) Lab astatine UMD SPH. "The Center for SUNSHINE is astir building aging resilience by transforming nan systems that style wellness and care. Through bold interdisciplinary research, we purpose to fortify attraction coordination, empower communities, and reimagine nan wellness and societal infrastructure needed to support aging crossed nan nation."

The halfway will beryllium helmed by Chen pinch co-leads Dr. Rozalina McCoy, subordinate professor astatine nan University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and head of nan Center for Population Health astatine UM-IHC and Dr. Stephen Thomas, professor of wellness argumentation and guidance astatine UMD SPH. 

"We are creating a singular level for research, acquisition and invention successful healthcare transportation – bringing together economics, demography, medicine, organization health, artificial intelligence, epidemiology and wellness informatics – each successful work of improving attraction systems and boosting nan resilience of our older populations," said McCoy. 

Ten world units crossed UMD are progressive successful nan Center for SUNSHINE, including the School of Engineering and the Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute astatine Maryland (AIM). Other partners include Howard University and the Erickson School of Aging Studies at nan University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC); spot beneath for a afloat database of partners. 

The Center will put successful training and mentoring nan adjacent procreation of scholars, pinch a attraction connected aging resilience and wellness systems research. It will besides support aviator projects led by qualified researchers nationwide, offering entree to anonymized Medicare claims, physics wellness records, and geospatial data, on pinch analytic and modeling support. Funded aviator investigators will person tailored improvement resources to beforehand their investigation and profession trajectories.

"Community engagement is simply a awesome attraction of nan Center for SUNSHINE. We are committed to ensuring that older adults and their families are not conscionable 'human subjects' of research, but existent collaborators successful shaping nan science, policies, and innovations that support patient aging," said Thomas. 

In its first year, nan Center for SUNSHINE will money 2 aviator projects that straight use investigation to improving nan wellness and wellbeing of older people: Dr. Shelby Steuart, astatine UMD College Park, will analyse telehealth and behavioral wellness attraction for older adults and Dr. Margaret Connolly astatine UMSOM will research entree to caller treatments for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a communal information successful older people.