FIU undertakes comprehensive aging study

Frailty commonly comes hand-in-hand with older age. It often leads to weakness and falls that can cause severe injuries like hip fractures and head trauma, and can increase the risk of early death. Even lesser injuries can have a dramatic impact on quality of life.

That’s why retirees like Pedro Blanco volunteered to help FIU researchers study mobility and the social determinants of health in regards to frailty.

“When all of you get to be our age,” he said, “my hope is you will be able to work longer and be healthier.”

Blanco is one of dozens of Hispanic seniors who took part in the study conducted at the De Hostos Senior Center in Miami as part of a university-wide initiative on aging launched by FIU and led by the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine and the Benjamin Leon Center for Geriatric Research and Education.

State Senator Anitere Flores, center, presents a check from the Florida Legislature to the deans of the colleges of medicine, nursing, and public health to benefit the FIU Institute on Aging.

With money from the Florida Legislature, FIU experts are collaborating on several studies on how clinical and social determinants affect quality of life and health in the elderly.

“It’s enabling us to gather data on elderly Hispanics, a population traditionally understudied, about mobility factors and social needs that conjointly may lead to frailty,” said Paulo Chaves, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Benjamin Leon Center for Geriatric Research and Education, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine.

As part of the study, graduate FIU nursing and public health students assess Blanco’s and the other retiree’s grip strength, their ability to standup, and thanks to a special simulator, even how quickly and easily they can cross the street.

“We are determining the status of this population to see where programs are needed,” said Edgar Vieira, Ph.D., PT, assistant professor of physical therapy at the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences.

Some of the projects in the aging initiative include the CareHeroes caregivers dashboard, an App designed by the College of Nursing in partnership with the Florida Department of Health to improve communication between patients, caregivers, case managers, and doctors.

Yet another study is looking into unnecessary and/or preventable emergency room visits among the elderly and what social factors may be prompting their decision to go. Could many of those visits be prevented if the elderly patient had access to better care at home?

“I don’t think there’s been a study where we’ve looked at the social determinants, where we’ve really tried to get their perspective and do an in-depth discussion with them on what factors brought them there,” said Richard Beaulaurier, Ph.D., associate professor, Robert Stempel School of Social Work and Public Health.

While varied in style and structure the different research projects share a common goal, to improve the quality of life of the elderly, not just here in South Florida, but everywhere.