Students in the Healthy Aging Lab have the opportunity to enhance the well-being of older adults through research and health education. Sometimes they even get a chance to hear captivating life-stories from the clients they serve.

Last year, student research assistants taught a 15-week course on healthy living to older adults in the community. Three of those students recently presented at the Gerontological Society of America conference and shared results from a Health Aging Lab project that received funding from the National Institutes of Health. 

Allex Mahanna, a current Master of Public Health student, presented a poster that explored the relationship between older adults’ perceptions of if they were aging successfully, and their actual physical health. Marin Livingston, a junior in the School of Nursing, and Cara Chapman, WWAMI medical student, presented a poster on the HOPE Ed project. The project was about persuasive hope theory, which looks at how hopeful language can be used to inspire and encourage older adults to make positive choices regarding their health.

Getting more students involved in research – especially in gerontology – is something Mahanna, Livingston and Chapman all say is necessary.  

There are many benefits for students who get involved in research, such as connecting with faculty and mentors, exposure to different populations in the community, and having more professional opportunities open up. Making these benefits visible to students is an essential part of getting more people involved, since most students might not know how much research can bring to their academic career, regardless of the field that they’re in.  “It’s really helpful if you can explain to a student that they will benefit from the project,” said Mahanna.

Aside from gaining research experience, all three students say that working with older adults enriched their personal lives as well. They enjoyed being able to connect with the older adults in their community, and appreciated the chance to listen to their stories and learn about their lives.

“It’s not only good for academics, but it’s good to be a curious person and talk to people, hear about their experiences, hear their advice,” said Chapman. “I’m sure if you have a question about something going on in your life, they probably have – in some way or another – been through that already.”

Mahanna, Chapman and Livingston all hope that more students will take advantage of the opportunity to get involved with the Healthy Aging Lab.

“At the conference, the general theme of all the research was ‘This is important, but we don’t have enough and more needs to be done,’ and I think that’s really what makes gerontologic research such a critical field,” said Livingston. “I hope someday, someone will use the research that we’ve done and use it to make their lives better and care for them properly.”

Division of Population Health Sciences Associate Professor Britteny Howell founded the Healthy Aging Lab. “This conference was the first international research conference for most of the students,” said Howell. “They gained experience presenting to a diverse academic audience and attended sessions by other students and professionals in their field."

The College of Health offers a variety of hands-on research opportunities to students across UAA. 

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