ASA - American Society on Aging

1997 Awards Programs
Recognizing Excellence in the Field of Aging

Award Winners

1997 ASA STUDENT RESEARCH AWARDS

Jeannette Franks, PhD

University of Washington, WA

The ASA Student Research Award is presented to graduate students for exceptional research relevant to aging and applicable to practice.

This year's student research award goes to Jeannette Franks. Her interest in aging and long-term care goes back to her grandfather's death in a nursing home in 1981. Contrary to some of the sensationalistic literature of that era, she perceived that her grandfather and her family were treated with kindness and compassion, despite difficult circumstances. Today assisted living has appeared on the scene, offering another promising type of long-term care for frail older people. For her doctoral dissertation, Jeannette chose to compare quality of life of similar residents and costs of both types of facilities. The study, "Residents in Long-Term Care: A Case-Controlled Study of Cost and Quality of Life in Nursing Homes and Assisted Living in Washington State," compared the monthly costs and quality of life of individuals matched on a scale of functional ability living in nursing homes and in assisted living.

A former Peace Corps and VISTA volunteer, Jeannette Franks is the director of the offices of the retired faculty and staff of the University of Washington and teaches at Edmonds Community College near Seattle.