GSA Momentum Discussions

In this Momentum Discussion Podcast episode, Dr. Frank Lin, co-primary investigator of the Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders, or ACHIEVE, study discusses this landmark study examining the effect of hearing intervention on brain health. ACHIEVE is a multicenter randomized trial to determine if treating hearing loss in older adults reduces cognitive decline that can occur with aging. Dr. Lin and his co-primary investigator first reported in July 2023 that the hearing intervention slowed cognitive decline in older adults with mild to moderate hearing loss by 48% in a pre-specified segment of the study population. This exciting discovery has motivated Dr. Lin and others at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to develop a broader national campaign to encourage all adults to learn and monitor their own hearing with a free app, Hearing Number. Additional Resources: The Clinical Practice piece Dr. Lin authored for the NEJM "Age-Related Hearing Loss." Download the transcript Guest: Frank R. Lin, MD, PhD Director of the Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health Professor of Otolaryngology, Medicine, Mental Health, and Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health Host: Jennifer Pettis, MS, RN, CNE Director, Strategic Alliances Gerontological Society of America Support provided by Genentech, Lilly, Eisai, and Otsuka

The National Caucus and Center on Black Aging (NCBA) developed the report “Stuck in the Middle” to address all aspects of obesity, including but not limited to causes, effects, statistical profiles, myths and misconceptions, public policy, ways to address obesity, resources for managing obesity, barriers to accessing a full continuum of care, and more. In this Momentum Discussion Podcast episode, the report author and NCBA’s Director of Health Programs discuss key points from the report, whose target audience is the African American community, in which obesity occurs at an inordinately high rate. They share insights from the report that is written in laymen’s language in order to reach as broad an audience as possible, and they highlight why action is urgently needed to support African Americans to access the full spectrum of quality obesity care. Download the transcript Guests: Angie Boddie, MPS Director of Health Programs National Caucus and Center on Black Aging, Inc. Deborah Mathis Consultant/Communications Strategist National Caucus and Center on Black Aging Host: Jennifer Pettis, MS, RN, CNE Director, Strategic Alliances Gerontological Society of America Support provided by Novo Nordisk

The Alter program is a nurse-led, dementia-friendly congregation program aimed at empowering African American churches to serve all members, including those living with dementia and their families. Fayron Epps, PhD, RN, FGSA, FAAN, developed the Alter program to increase dementia awareness; develop a supportive, faith-based dementia-friendly infrastructure; and create a community supporting the well-being of African Americans living with dementia and their families. In this Momentum Discussion Podcast episode, Dr. Epps shares insights into the Alter program and what inspired her to found the program. She also describes key components of the program and discusses the result of 10 years of working in the community and creating a faith network committed to developing dementia-friendly congregations. Download the transcript Guest: Fayron Epps, PhD, RN, FGSA, FAAN Associate Professor, tenured Director of Community & Research Engagement Host: Jennifer Pettis, MS, RN, CNE Director, Strategic Alliances Gerontological Society of America Support provided by Genentech, Lilly, Eisai, and Otsuka.

In this Momentum Discussion Podcast episode, our guest shares challenges and opportunities around brain health in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. He provides insights into the Healthy Brain Initiative’s Road Map for Indian Country and discusses success stories with indigenous communities addressing dementia issues. Finally, he outlines research questions that need to be answered to successfully address brain health in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Download the transcript Guest: Michael Splaine Principal, Splaine Consulting Managing Partner, Recruitment Partners LLC Host: Jennifer Pettis, MS, RN, CNE Director of Strategic Alliances Gerontological Society of America Support provided by Genentech, Lilly, Eisai, and Otsuka. Additional Resources: https://www.glitc.org/programs/aging-disability/publications-and-media/https://iasquared.org/brain-health/https://www.cdc.gov/aging/healthybrain/pdf/hbi-road-map-for-indian-country-508.pdf

The National Consumers League and National Council on Aging worked with health leaders and obesity specialists to establish a set of rights so people with obesity will be screened, diagnosed, counseled and effectively treated for their overweight and obesity based on medical treatment guidelines. During the Momentum Discussion Podcast episode, leaders from these two organizations discuss the impetus for and development of the Obesity Bill of Rights and discuss each of the eight rights included in it. They share what is next for their organizations around the Bill of Rights and share how others can join the movement to help ensure person-centered quality obesity care for adults living with the chronic disease of obesity. Download the transcript Guests: Dorothea K. Vafiadis, MS Senior Director, Center for Healthy Aging Nancy Glick Director of Food and Nutrition Policy National Consumers League Host: Jennifer Pettis, MS, RN, CNE Director of Strategic Alliances Gerontological Society of America

Most individuals with dementia experience behavioral symptoms during their disease trajectory. These symptoms are troubling to the person living with dementia, their care partners, and others such as family members or those living in congregate living settings. In this Momentum Discussion Podcast episode, Dr. Kalisha Bonds Johnson, a Board-Certified Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner at Emory Integrated Memory Care, shares her insights into the importance of detecting and addressing behavioral symptoms. She offers general strategies that care partners and others can take when interacting with someone with dementia, and she provides important insights into managing specific troubling behaviors. Download the transcript Guest: Dr. Kalisha Bonds Johnson, PhD, RN, PMHNP-BC Assistant Professor, tenure track Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing Emory Host: Jennifer Pettis, MS, RN, CNE Director of Strategic Alliances Gerontological Society of America This podcast episode is supported by Genentech, Lily, Eisai, and Otsuka.

This Momentum Discussion podcast episode addresses the importance of physical activity for longevity and independence, challenges older adults may face when exercising and their solutions, and suggestions on how to get started with incorporating routine exercise into one’s life. Download the transcript Guests: Kathryn N. Porter Starr, PhD, MS, RDN Associate Professor, Duke University School of Medicine Research Health Scientist, Durham VA Medical Center Eric Levitan Founder, CEO Vivo Host: Jennifer Pettis, MS, RN, CNE Director of Strategic Alliances The Gerontological Society of America This podcast episode is supported by Novo Nordisk.

In this Momentum Discussion podcast episode, Dan Stewart, MSG, Long-Term Care Equality Index program co-lead and associate director of the Aging Equality Project at the HRC Foundation, discusses considerations aimed at ensuring equitable and person-centered care for individuals in the LGBTQ+ community and ensuring LGBTQ+ inclusion in the healthcare. He provides insights into unique challenges around brain health, dementia, and aging for individuals in the LGBTQ+ community and shares key insights into the combined challenges of being LGBTQ+ and having dementia. Download the transcript Guest: Dan Stewart, MSG Long-Term Care Equality Index Program Co-Lead Associate Director of the Aging Equality Project Human Rights Campaign Foundation Host: Jennifer Pettis, MS, RN, CNE Director of Strategic Alliances The Gerontological Society of America This podcast episode is supported by Genentech, Lily, Eisai, and Otsuka.

Certain groups of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) develop dementia at rates similar to older adults in the general population. However, adults with certain conditions, such as Down syndrome, develop Alzheimer's disease at greater rates. During this Momentum Discussion podcast episode, our guest discusses this issue and provides an overview of unique challenges in assessing for dementia in individuals with I/DD. She discusses strategies that primary care teams and others can use from the GSA publication, Addressing Brain Health in Adults with Intellectual Disabilities and Developmental Disabilities: A Companion to the KAER Toolkit for Primary Care Providers, to improve detection of dementia and care and services for adults with I/DD. Download the transcript Guest: Lisa Comes Service and Support Advisor Ohio Association of County Boards of Developmental Disabilities Host: Jennifer Pettis, MS, RN, CNE Director of Strategic Alliances Gerontological Society of America This podcast episode is supported by Eisai.

In this Momentum Discussion podcast episode, Dr. Carl V. Hill, Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at the Alzheimer's Association provides insights into race, ethnicity, and Alzheimer's in America and shares information about barriers and facilitators to quality dementia care for all populations. He discusses how to successfully engage in dementia risk reduction conversations with people from diverse backgrounds and shares examples of successful collaborations aimed at improving access to information about dementia and brain health. Download the transcript Guest: Carl Hill, PhD, MPH Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer Alzheimer’s Association Moderator: Jennifer Pettis, MS, RN, CNE Director of Strategic Alliances Gerontological Society of America This podcast episode is supported by Genentech, Lilly, Eisai, and Otsuka.

During this Momentum Discussion podcast episode, interprofessional experts examine obesity as a disease and discuss the need to intently treat individuals with obesity using guideline-based and standard-informed interprofessional and multifaceted plans of care. They share insights into the unique needs of older adults living with obesity, and they reflect on the heterogeneity of the older adult population and the importance of considering this heterogeneity when providing obesity care for older adults. Download the transcript Guests: Kathryn N. Porter Starr, PhD, MS, RDN Associate Professor, Duke University School of Medicine Research Health Scientist, Durham VA Medical Center John A. Batsis, MD, FACP, FTOS, AGSF, FGSA Associate Professor Division of Geriatric Medicine, School of Medicine Department of Nutrition, The Gillings School of Global Public Health The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Moderator: Jennifer Pettis, MS, RN, CNE Director of Strategic Alliances The Gerontological Society of America This podcast episode is supported by Novo Nordisk.

In this Momentum Discussion podcast episode, interprofessional experts from Emory Integrated Memory Care discuss the common neuropsychiatric condition of agitation in Alzheimer's disease (AAD) and how it impacts individuals living with Alzheimer's and their caregivers. They discuss challenges to detecting AAD and share how detecting and treating this common symptom can improve quality of life for older adults and their caregivers. Finally, they discuss the Agitation in Alzheimer’s Screener for Caregivers (AASCTM), a new tool released during the 2023 GSA Annual Scientific Meeting, with which clinicians can screen for AAD in just one minute. More information about the AASCTM is available online at theaasc.com. Download the transcript Guests: Carolyn K. Clevenger, DNP, GNP-BC, FAANP, FGSA, FAAN Professor, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing Emory University Clinical Director, Emory Integrated Memory Care Laura Medders, LCSW Administrative Director, Emory Integrated Memory Care Moderator: Jennifer Pettis, MS, RN, CNE Director of Strategic Alliances The Gerontological Society of America This podcast is supported by Otsuka.

More than 90% of caregivers are also financial caregivers, defined as either contributing direct financial support or coordinating some or all their loved one’s money-related matters. Managing someone’s finances is complex and can extend for months or even years, both during the care recipient’s life and often well beyond the death of a loved one. Longer life spans and lifestyle changes create an urgency to plan for caregiving costs across life stages, not just in middle age. Attention to financial caregiving, when coupled with financial and longevity literacy, can help optimize retirement readiness. This podcast episode provides helpful actions that families, employers, and communities can take to help address this critical need. Download the transcript Guest: Surya Kolluri Head of TIAA Institute Moderator: James Appleby Chief Executive Officer, Gerontological Society of America This podcast is supported by TIAA Institute.

This Momentum Discussion podcast provides insight into the “Aging and Oral Health Research “Meeting within a Meeting” held during the March 2023 American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research Annual Meeting. Learn about the primary objectives and outcomes of the meeting and the impact of loneliness and isolation in older adults and oral health and nutrition in aging. Download the transcript Moderator: Karen Tracy The Gerontological Society of America Washington, DC Panelists: Jane A. Weintraub Department of Pediatric and Public Health Adams School of Dentistry University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC And Immediate Past President of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research Carla Perissinotto Division of Geriatrics, School of Medicine University of California San Francisco San Francisco, CA Riva Touger-Decker Diagnostic Sciences Rutgers School of Dental Medicine School of Health Professions Rutgers State University of New Jersey Newark, NJ This podcast is supported by Haleon.

According to the Alzheimer's Association, over 11 million Americans provide an estimated 18 billion hours of unpaid care for people with Alzheimer's or other dementias. In 2022, this care was valued at $339 billion. Most of these caregivers are women, and many caregivers are from diverse and underserved communities. In this Momentum Discussion podcast episode, leaders from the Alzheimer’s Association of Northeastern New York discuss the unique needs of diverse caregivers and how they are meeting these needs. They offer insights into how healthcare providers and others can best meet the needs of all caregivers while promoting brain health for all individuals. Download the transcript Guests: Elizabeth Smith-Boivin Executive Director/CEO, Alzheimer’s Association of Northeastern New York Debbie Abreu Community Outreach Manager for DEI initiatives, Alzheimer’s Association of Northeastern New York Host: Jennifer Pettis, MS, RN, CNE Director of Strategic Alliances, The Gerontological Society of America This podcast episode is supported by Genentech, Lilly, Eisai, and Otsuka.

Agitation can be described as increased, often undirected, motor activity, restlessness, aggressiveness, and emotional distress. It may include nonaggressive behaviors such as pacing, repetitious movements, and general restlessness, or it may manifest as physically or verbally aggressive behaviors. It is one of the most distressing behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, and between 30% and 80% of people living with dementia, depending on the setting, experience agitation. Because of the wide-ranging potential negative impacts associated with agitation in Alzheimer’s disease (AAD), a person-centered, individualized approach to address AAD is a must. In this Momentum Discussion Podcast episode, we provide insights into AAD from the perspective of a professional caregiver and a family member whose loved one lives with AAD. They share how the condition impacts the person with Alzheimer’s disease and those around them and offer strategies to prevent and address troubling behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia associated with AAD. Download the Transcript Guests: Laura Medders, LCSW Administrative Director, Emory Integrated Memory Care Clinic Maureen Morrison Care partner to her husband, Angus, who lives with Alzheimer's disease Host: Jennifer Pettis, MS, RN, CNE Director of Strategic Alliances, The Gerontological Society of America This podcast episode is supported by Otsuka. Content was developed by The Gerontological Society of America (GSA).

According to the McKnight Brain Research Foundation website, “there is growing hope and expectation that it’s possible to maintain cognitive health later in life, allowing people to age independently and enjoy the benefits of a fuller life.” During this Momentum Discussion Podcast episode, Allison Brashear, MD, MBA, a member of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees and the University at Buffalo’s Vice President for Health Sciences and Dean of the Jacobs School, and Angelika Schlanger, PhD, executive director of the Foundation, will offer insights into brain health, cognitive health, and cognitive aging. They discuss how normal cognitive aging differs from changes in cognitive function due to dementia. Finally, they offer insights into how individuals can take steps to promote their brain health at any age. Download the Transcript Guests: Allison Brashear, MD, MBA Vice President for Health Sciences Dean of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences University at Buffalo Angelika Schlanger, PHD Executive Director, McKnight Brain Research Foundation Host: Jennifer Pettis, MS, RN, CNE Director of Strategic Alliances, The Gerontological Society of America This podcast episode is supported by Genentech, Lilly, Otsuka, and Eisai. Content was developed by The Gerontological Society of America (GSA).

Early detection of dementia leads to better outcomes for individuals with dementia and their care partners. It allows them to potentially benefit from a variety of care interventions, make decisions about their care, and tap into community resources to enhance their quality of life and function. Despite this, the Alzheimer’s Association reported that neither older adults nor primary care practitioners routinely raise brain health issues – particularly in the case that an older adult has signs of mild cognitive impairment. In this GSA Momentum Discussion Podcast episode, Bonnie Burman, president of the Ohio Council for Cognitive Health, discusses barriers to kickstarting brain health conversations and early diagnosis of dementia, offers strategies to overcome them, and highlights how care providers and other communities of interest can use the KAER Toolkit for Brain Health to improve early detection of dementia. Download the Transcript Guest: Bonnie Burman, ScD President, Ohio Council for Cognitive Health Host: Jennifer Pettis, MS, RN, CNE Director of Strategic Alliances, The Gerontological Society of America This podcast episode is supported by Genentech, Lilly, Eisai, and Otsuka. Content was developed by The Gerontological Society of America (GSA).

In their special report, Alzheimer’s Detection in the Primary Care Setting: Paving a Path Forward, the Alzheimer’s Association reported that despite a strong belief among older adults that brief cognitive assessments are important and that early detection of cognitive problems is beneficial, only half are being assessed for cognitive decline, and much fewer receive routine assessments. The Association’s findings about dementia care practices in primary care along with the ever-growing number of Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias highlight the need to take a systems approach to improving dementia care. In this Momentum Discussion Podcast episode, Amy Boehm, senior health systems director for the Alzheimer's Association discusses the urgent need to improve dementia care practices in primary care, how The GSA KAER Toolkit for Primary Care Teams addresses an unmet need for primary care providers, and shares how the Alzheimer’s Association Health System Initiative can support them in implementing practice change to improve dementia care. Amy also offers strategies to get started with changing practice in any care setting. Download the Transcript Guest: Amy Boehm Senior Health Systems Director Alzheimer's Association Host: Jennifer Pettis, MS, RN, CNE Director of Strategic Alliances The Gerontological Society of America This podcast episode is supported by Genentech, Lilly, Eisai, and Otsuka. Content was developed by The Gerontological Society of America (GSA).

People with obesity often experience bias due to their weight which can negatively impact their overall health and well-being. Older adults may have faced weight bias for many years, including from their healthcare providers, their families, and themselves. In addition to the weight bias being prevalent in healthcare, it also permeates places of employment, educational institutions, the media, and society overall. During this Momentum Discussion Podcast episode, Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford discusses weight bias and its negative consequences. She shares examples of how weight bias exists in healthcare and other areas and provides insights into how a person’s cultural identity impacts how they might experience weight bias. Finally, she offers solutions to this significant issue, including steps that healthcare professionals can take to eliminate weight bias and provide a comfortable environment of care for people with the chronic disease of obesity. Download Transcript Guest: Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, MPH, MPA, MBA, FAAP, FACP, FAHA, FAMWA, FTOS Associate Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics Harvard Medical School Obesity Medicine Physician-Scientist Massachusetts General Hospital Host: Jennifer Pettis, MS, RN, CNE Director of Strategic Alliances, The Gerontological Society of America This podcast episode is supported by Novo Nordisk. Content was developed by The Gerontological Society of America (GSA).