A study led by Halima Amjad and co-authors John Mulcahy, Judith Kasper, Julia Burgdorf, David Roth, Ken Covinsky, and Jennifer Wolff in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society examined a nationally representative cohort of older adults with disabilities. Increased risk of hospitalization at 12 months was associated with having a primary caregiver who helped with healthcare tasks, reported physical strain, and provided more than 40 hours of care weekly. The findings suggest that hospitalization risk reduction strategies may benefit from understanding and addressing caregiving circumstances. Read more

The Hopkins’ Economics of Alzheimer’s Disease and Services (HEADS) Center is a new research center that seeks to improve the care and lives of those affected by Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. The Center is led by Jennifer Wolff, PhD, Eugene and Mildred Lipitz Professor of Health Policy and Management and Director of the Roger C. Lipitz Center for Integrated Healthcare and Daniel Polsky, PhD, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Health Economics and Director of the Hopkins Business of Health Initiative.

The HEADS Center focuses on both understanding the full range of care needs and identifying and advancing solutions that address accessibility, affordability, quality, and equity of care. The Center will take a cross-school, interdisciplinary approach to build collaborations among faculty across the University and include the following initiatives:

• Funding to support novel pilot studies to advance population-based research and attract investigators to the field,
• The development of a high-capacity, secure computing environment to support novel population-based data analyses, and
• Community-building activities to support use of research resources, the dissemination of scientific findings, and partnerships with key stakeholders and advocacy organizations to translate findings into policy and practice.

Stay tuned for more information on the center! 

An editorial written by Mariana Socal and co-authors Joshua Sharfstein and Jeremy Greene in the American Journal of Public Health explains how COVID-19 has pointedly exposed the fragility of the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain. The authors offer suggestions on how to protect the supply chain during a crisis, enhance manufacturing capacity, and improve distribution. Read more. 

The Health Services and Outcomes Research for Aging Populations T32 Training Program at Johns Hopkins University seeks to produce the next generation of scientists with rigorous training in person and family-centered health services and outcomes research with a focus on older adults. The program draws on the rich resources for research in health services, health economics, gerontology, nursing, health informatics, and geriatrics across the Johns Hopkins University, including its Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH), School of Medicine (SOM), and School of Nursing (SON). Trainees obtain the knowledge, skill, and experience to lead multi-disciplinary, collaborative research teams. The overarching aim of the program is to identify and train pre-doctoral and post-doctoral scholars who will become leaders in person and family-oriented research relating to aging populations.

Questions may be directed to the Training Grant Co-Directors Cynthia Boyd, MD MPH (cyboyd@jhmi.edu) and Jennifer Wolff PhD (jwolff2@jhu.edu) as well as Sarah Szanton (sarah.szanton@jhu.edu).