An Ambassador of Aging

Jeff Laguna, USC Davis School Ph.D. student, will present at an international gerontology conference
By Jonathan Riggs

Jeff Laguna

USC Davis School third-year Ph.D. student Jeff Laguna will help represent both our university and country at the 40th Annual British Society of Gerontology Conference in July.

"British gerontological research is often quite different from the methods of inquiry we utilize here in the States," Laguna said. "I find it fascinating that we both attempt to answer similar research questions in such disparate ways. Opportunities for information exchange, such as this conference, provide good perspective for a young researcher such as myself."

Partly funded by a National Science Foundation/USC Graduate School EDGE Supplemental stipend and a USC Provost’s Fellows Travel Grant, Laguna will deliver a talk on the documented lower rates of hospice enrollment and higher rates of aggressive end-of-life care among African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian/Pacific Islanders. His presentation will include an overview of end-of-life preferences and subsequent care received by U.S. minorities as well as strategies for promoting minority hospice enrollment and utilization.

The topics of end-of-life and palliative care are at the heart of Laguna’s research, which also encompasses bereavement, continuity of care and healthcare disparities. With his work, he hopes to address current gaps in the healthcare systems of the U.S. that will have far-reaching-and perhaps international-benefits.