Profile

Dr. Laura Gitlin

Distinguished University Professor, Dean Emeritus,
Drexel University
Ribbons
Policy Institute 2014

Contact Details

Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA

Dr. Laura Gitlin


Distinguished University Professor, Dean Emeritus,
Drexel University

Bio

Dr. Laura N. Gitlin, an applied research sociologist, is nationally and internationally recognized in the areas of nonpharmacologic approaches in dementia care, family caregiving, functional disability and aging in place. She is a well-funded researcher, having received continuous research and training grants from both federal agencies and private foundations, including the Alzheimer’s Association and the National Institutes of Health for over 24 years. Her programs of research include understanding adaptive processes in old age—particularly with the use of assistive devices and environmental modifications—psycho-social-environmental approaches to helping older people with physical frailty age in place, nonpharmacologic approaches to enhancing quality of life of persons with dementia and their family caregivers, mental health disparities in older African Americans and depression treatments, and translating and implementing evidence-based interventions for family caregivers, individuals with dementia, and older adults with functional difficulties. Dr. Gitlin holds a joint appointment in the School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry. She is developing with colleagues the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing Center for Innovative Care in Aging which will examine issues related to developing and testing health promoting interventions for older adults and their families and implementation science.

Education

Purdue University
W. Lafayette
Ph.D., 1982
Sociology

Temple University
Philadelphia
B.A., 1974
Anthropology

Purdue University
W. Lafayette
M.A., 1976
Sociology

Job History

Hartford Change AGEnts Initiative
National Co-leader
October 2013 - present

Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Community of Public Health
Professor
Baltimore
January 2011 - present

Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing Center for Innovative Care in Aging
Founding Director
Baltimore
January 2011 - present

CARAH’s Jefferson Elder Care, Thomas Jefferson University
Founding Co-executive director
March 2008 - present

Jefferson Center for Applied Research on Aging and Health, Thomas Jefferson University
Founding Director
January 2004 - present

Areas Of Expertise

  • Caregiving
  • Caregiving: Caregiver Stress and Coping Strategies
  • Caregiving: Direct Service Programs for Caregivers of Elders with Dementia
  • Caregiving: Direct Service Programs for Caregivers of Elders without Dementia
  • Caregiving: Spouse Caregivers
  • Health Promotion

Change Industry

  • Community Center
  • Home Care
  • Hospital
  • Long Term Care
  • Non-Profit
  • University

Industry or Setting

  • Non-Profit
  • University

Domains of Practice Change

  • Connecting Education
  • Delivering System Redesign
  • Model Program Development
  • Practice, Care, and Services
  • Public Policy

Discipline

  • Public Health