Allied Health in Action
Thomas Jefferson University
Jefferson College of Health Professions
CARAH and Center in the Park win Award for Excellence in Multicultural Aging
February 20, 2009
| The Jefferson Center for Applied Research on Aging and Health (CARAH) and Center in the Park (CIP), a nationally accredited community senior center in the Philadelphia region, received the NOMA (Network of Multicultural Aging) Award for Excellence in Multicultural Aging for their collaboration in the National Institute of Mental Health-funded In Touch: Mind Body Spirit program. The American Society on Aging gives this award to organizations that have demonstrated high-quality, innovative programs that enhance the lives of a multicultural aging population. |  Seated- LtoR: Renee Cunningham-Ginchereau, Associate Director, CIP; Lynn Fields Harris, Executive Director, CIP and Co-Investigator; Nancy L. Chernett, MA, MPH, Project Director, CARAH;Standing- LtoR - Delores Palmer, Coordinator, In Touch; Marie M. Marthol, In Touch Coordinator; Laura N. Gitlin, PhD, Director, CARAH |
The In Touch: Mind Body and Spirit program seeks to understand and support healthy aging of older African Americans through research; training of CIP staff and Jefferson health professionals and students; and the identification, introduction and development of evidence-based health promotion programs at CIP.
“Center in the Park members who have participated in the program's Healthy Aging studies, the Mind Body & Spirit survey and Brain Health Workshops have contributed to the success of In Touch by informing the development of programs and services,” says Lynn Fields Harris, the executive director of CIP. “They have also benefited from its approach to promoting health and wellness. That's a win-win for CIP members and CIP/CARAH collaborators.”
The American Society on Aging considers six elements when choosing a recipient of the NOMA Award: innovation, effectiveness of programming in meeting the needs of a multicultural population, potential for replication, partnerships or coalitions, consumer and volunteer involvement and lessons learned.
“One innovation of this program is the academic-community-based partnership,” shares Laura N. Gitlin, PhD, director of CARAH. “It gives each partner access to intellectual resources for identifying research questions of practical importance and community benefit, training staff, evaluating program outcomes and implementing evidence-based programs. A unique collaborative model is used that systematically integrates consumer identified needs, experiences and viewpoints in the advancement of related research, training of health and human service professionals and CIP programming.
In Touch: Mind Body and Spirit features three pilot research studies that build on each other as they explore the meaning and knowledge of depression, preferred coping styles and treatment preferences and the roles of health, daily functioning, neighborhood and home in supporting positive mental health. Emerging study findings are used to inform CIP programming and service delivery and contribute to the scientific literature on health disparities.
CARAH and Center in the Park will receive the award during the Aging in America Conference held in Las Vegas in March 2009.
Learn more about CARAH's research at http://www.jefferson.edu/jchp/carah/
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