The Committee on the Advancement of Women Faculty (CAWF) at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has announced that Harvard Pop Center Director Lisa Berkman will be honored with its Third Annual Mentoring Award at the upcoming 2017 Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, May 10 from 2:30–4:15 P.M. The ceremony will also include the presentation of the Seventh Annual Alice Hamilton Award to Kirsten Davison, the Donald and Sue Pritzker…
Economic downturns negatively impact future cognitive functioning of older U.S. workers
A study published in The Journals of Gerontology Series B by recent Harvard Bell Fellow Philipp Hessel, Pop Center Director Lisa Berkman, and faculty member Mauricio Avendano has found exposure to economic downturns among U.S. workers approaching retirement age to be associated with decreased cognitive functioning later in life. Longer periods of exposure to downturns were found to be associated with lower levels of functioning.
How do functional abilities of aging population in South Africa compare to those in other LMICs?
Researchers affiliated with the Harvard Pop Center have authored a paper based on research from the Health and Aging in Africa: a Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI) study that finds that older South African men had 30% higher odds than women of being limited when it came to performing activities of daily living (ADLs), and that this cohort in South Africa (men and women) did not…
Possible molecular link to stroke and dementia may be associated with level of social support
Harvard Pop Center Director Lisa Berkman, PhD, and faculty member Joel Salinas, MD, are among the authors on a paper published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions that reveals that those with more social support were found to have higher serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is linked to reduced risk of dementia and stroke in certain subsets.
Two WFHN studies reinforce cyclical effect of getting enough, high quality sleep
Two studies by WFHN researchers help to illustrate the reciprocal relationship between sleep and the following day’s perceived stress levels, and vice versa, how daytime stressors can impact that night’s sleep. The studies are published in the Journal of Sleep Research and the Annals of Behavioral Medicine.
Berkman on risk of social isolation in PBS NewsHour segment on cohousing
Watch Lisa Berkman in this feature on benefits of cohousing on PBS NewsHour Weekend. Learn more in this news item from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Receiving antiretroviral therapy for HIV may offer spillover health benefits for at-risk population in South Africa
A team of HAALSI (a research project studying health of aging population in South Africa) researchers affiliated with the Harvard Pop Center has found that HIV-positive adults in South Africa who receive antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV have greater access to preventative care for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes and hypertension. Their findings are published in the journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases.
What will employment be like for aging workforce in future? International researchers discuss today at Harvard Pop Center
Today the Harvard Pop Center is co-hosting the 2016 Sloan Research Network on Aging & Work Fall Institute, chaired by Jackie James from Boston College and our director, Lisa Berkman. Researchers from around the world are here to discuss projects related to older worker employment.
How can U.S. get ready for its aging population?
An expert paper, commissioned by The National Academy of Medicine’s Vital Directions for Health and Health Care Initiative and co-authored by Lisa Berkman, tackles this key topic as part of a series focused on 19 priority focal areas for U.S. health policy.
Better sleep for employees, especially older workers, with more workplace flexibility & supervisor support
A study (in press in Sleep Health) by the WFHN reveals that those employees (particularly older workers) of an IT company that took part in an intervention study evaluating the effects of increased workplace flexibility and supervisor support experienced better duration and quality of sleep, as measured with wrist actigraphy.