A friend holds the hand of an older adult to provide support. 图片来源:iStock.
As a nationally certified American Sign Language interpreter, 乔安娜·罗 often worked with older patients in hospitals across Massachusetts.
During that time, she developed a strong affinity for older adults, the 增长最快的 占美国人口的一小部分. And, she says, she realized that she wanted to play a more active role in supporting their health.
65岁及以上人士 面临不成比例的风险 癌症，心脏病和2型糖尿病.
“I recognized that I had a voice,” says Rowe, who plans to graduate from the 太阳城网赌平台社会工作学院 5月. “I saw the barriers that older adults face within the healthcare system for years, 我意识到我可以提供很多东西.”
罗毕业于a 医疗保健口译证书课程 at the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2015 and enrolled in the School of Social Work in 2018. 她的太阳城官网重点是 老年人和家庭 and was one of five students selected to take part in the 斯皮尔老龄太阳城官网员项目 在2020-2021学年.
该项目由副教授领导 克里斯蒂娜Matz, prepares social workers to support the health and well-being of the rapidly aging population.
乔安娜·罗
Spier太阳城官网员获得3美元,000年津贴, get mentored by retired social workers who specialized in the care of older adults, 参加该领域专家的研讨会. 最近的一个演讲集中在 痴呆, which will likely affect more than 14 million adults 65 and over by 2050.
Spier Fellows also have access to a range of career paths through internships in Greater Boston. 罗在 脊髓损伤与疾病中心 在西罗克斯伯里的退伍军人事务医院, which helps veterans live healthy and independent lives.
罗与一个跨学科团队合作, supporting older patients who served in the Korean and Vietnam wars. 她评估病人的心理健康状况, ensures that they have support from caregivers after they leave the hospital, and helps them navigate the VA system to develop independent living skills.
“Anybody who’s interested in clinical work should consider the VA,” says Rowe. “The support that the social workers receive here is unparalleled and I think this is a fantastic place to intern.”
作为她奖学金的一部分, Rowe plans to study how masks worn to reduce the spread of COVID-19 affect the ability of people to communicate. Do clear, transparent masks make it easier to hear what’s said and read facial expressions? Do traditional masks hide emotions and visual cues and muddy communication? Rowe is waiting for the hospital to approve her project, but she plans to give masks to her colleagues and survey their responses to find out the answers to her questions.
Although she acknowledges that “we need to wear masks to help eradicate the virus,她说。 masks could make it harder for clinicians to communicate with their patients.
“My concern is that this could damage the rapport between patients and clinicians due to misunderstandings from lack of visual and auditory cues,罗说。, whose work as an American Sign Language interpreter shaped the idea for her research project. "How we can adapt masks to meet the needs of the patients we serve has fascinated me since the pandemic started.”
Rowe says she wants to earn her doctorate in social work and then find a career that enables her to treat patients and conduct research that benefits older adults. “Continuing to do research on this patient population is so important because there are huge gaps in our literature,她说。. “The Spier Fellowship is a research pathway to enter that world and I’m thankful for this opportunity.”
最后期限 应用 for the 斯皮尔老龄太阳城官网员项目 for the 2021-2022 academic year is Friday, Jan. 8, 2021.