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News Gretchen Alkema Announced as a 2007 Grantmakers In Aging Fellow By Whitney Fountas USC Davis School alumna Gretchen Alkema has been named a 2007 Grantmakers In Aging (GIA) Fellow. The only international professional organization of its kind, GIA promotes grant-making opportunities for aging research. As a fellow, she will have the opportunity to present research from her dissertation to representatives from some of the country’s largest financiers of age-related research at the GIA Annual Conference. “It is an amazing opportunity to meet with private organizations interested in aging research and to find out their research priorities,” Alkema, a 2007 Ph.D. graduate, said. This year’s conference, to be held October 31 through November 2 in San Diego, CA, is dedicated to uncovering new approaches to aging philanthropy. Preeminent grant-making organizations such as AARP, the UniHealth Foundation and Archstone Foundation will be in attendance. Alkema’s dissertation, titled “Translating Research into Practice: A Community-Based Medication Management Intervention,” screened participants for the four most common problems involving the delivery of medication to older adults. These include: unnecessary therapeutic duplication, such as taking two blood pressure medications; inappropriate psychotropic medication use, for example taking an anti-anxiety medication that can increase the risk of falls; cardiovascular medication problems; and inappropriate use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as Motrin for those at risk for peptic ulcers. After a pharmacist reviewed the 615 participants in Alkema’s study, 29 percent were confirmed to have at least one of the four types of problems. Alkema’s research, she suggests, shows the importance of programs and agencies that can detect and correct these issues before they cause greater health complications. Alkema currently holds two other postdoctoral fellowship positions. With the VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System Center of Excellence she integrates health and social care services, and at the Fall Prevention Center of Excellence she is a research associate involved with the California Senior Falls Prevention project and the California Stop Falls Network. Josea Kramer, Ph.D., who works with Alkema at the VA, nominated her for the GIA fellowship. “Dr. Alkema is a dynamic young researcher who is committed to translating research into community practices. Her dissertation research on medication management has established her as a rising star in the fields of gerontology and health services,” she said. “We expect that her contributions will enhance the field overall as well as contribute to the welfare of older persons.” |
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