ASA - American Society on Aging

2003 Awards Programs
Recognizing Excellence in the Field of Aging

Award Winners

2003 ASA GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH AWARDS

Beth A. D. Nolan

Lawrence, KS

Beth A. D. Nolan is a doctoral student in the University of Kansas Gerontology Department. Following her MA in applied behavior analysis from Western Michigan University, she worked as a clinical psychologist. She received an MA in human development from the University of Kansas while conducting intervention and evaluation research in nursing homes. While attending Kansas, she worked as a National Academy of Social Insurance intern, and worked at the Gerontological Society of America's public policy institute, the National Academy on an Aging Society. In 2002, she received the Dr. Laytin and Verna Camien scholarship academic award.

As part of the National Institute on Aging Special Care Unit Initiative to undertake the study of the outcomes of special care units, her current research focuses on the association of cognitive decline and aggressive behavior in Alzheimer's disease or related dementias. Her study determined how well physical functioning, recall problems and recognition problems predicted aggressive behavior, while controlling for age and gender.

Residents with a diagnosis of “dementia of the Alzheimer's type” from 87 nursing facilities in Michigan, North Carolina and Washington were evaluated. Recognition problems proved to be the strongest predictor of aggressive behavior in this group of residents; activities of daily living (as a measure of physical function) explained almost no variability in aggressive behavior. This lack of prediction on the part of the activities of daily living raises serious doubts about the notion that functional limitations evoke aggressive behaviors, at least in this group of residents. Since increases in aggressive behaviors within the aggressive-behavior measures are not related to declines in physical functioning, a clinician must look to problems with recognition, regardless of the physical functioning level of the resident.

Honorable Mention

Susan M. Hinck

Springfield, MO

Susan Hinck is an assistant professor in the Department of Nursing at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. She received a bachelor of science in nursing from Central Missouri State University and a master of nursing degree from the University of Kansas. She is certified in advanced practice as a gerontological clinical specialist by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. She obtained her PhD in nursing from St. Louis University in May 2002. Her doctoral research was supported by an individual National Research Service Award from the National Institute of Nursing Research.

Dr. Hinck's paper, “The Lived Experience of Oldest-Old Rural Adults,” is a phenomenological study of a portion of the age group (over 85) that is the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population. Its purpose was to explore life experiences of oldest-old individuals who lived alone in rural Midwest communities and to provide detailed descriptions and interpretations of the meaning of their lived experiences.

The aims of the study were to identify how oldest-old rural-dwelling men and women perceived the experience of living alone in their own homes; analyze their perceptions of their health status and the presence of acute or chronic illness; examine how they modified daily patterns of living to accommodate physical discomfort, restricted mobility, and varying energy resources and demands; describe what trade-offs they were willing to make between being physically safe and staying in their own homes; and explore what social support or resources they perceived as necessary to remain at home.

The sample consisted of 19 participants who were interviewed at least three times in their homes. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed and analyzed in an interpretive phenomenological tradition of paradigm cases, thematic analysis and exemplars. Participants described how historical, cultural and environmental contexts shaped their everyday thoughts, activities and what was meaningful to them. The findings can guide healthcare professionals in evaluating and developing community services and help significant others (family, friends and neighbors) understand what oldest-old rural adults need to remain at home.