Wednesday, November 14, 2018, 12:30-4:30pm
Fulfilling the Promise of Longevity: The Personal Determinants of Health Pre-Conference Workshop at the Gerontological Society of America Annual Scientific Meeting
Chair: Eric Kim, David Martin
Faculty: Laura Kubzansky, Andrew Steptoe, Charlotte Yeh, Victor Strecher, Louise Hawkley, Daniel Russel, David Martin, Catherine Alicia Georges
A modern definition of health can be articulated as “The ability to withstand life’s challenges.” This definition is more actionable than the older World Health Organization definition of “A state of well-being.” If we define health this way, then resiliency becomes a central concept. We have developed a psychosocial model we refer to as Aging Strong 2020, which envisions resiliency as underpinned by psychosocial factors including a sense of purpose in life, an abiding sense of optimism, and maintaining social connectedness (mitigating loneliness and social isolation). We have convened a panel of thought leaders with expertise in these psychosocial factors and how they relate to aging to join us for this workshop in order to critique our psychosocial model and to provide guidance on further research efforts. We hope this research will ultimately inform the development of effective clinical interventions.