Research by faculty and students from COM and CEAH published in scientific journal

Research by faculty and students from the College of Osteopathic Medicine (COM) and the Center for Excellence in Aging and Health (CEAH) was recently published in Advances in Aging Research, an openly accessible journal published bimonthly with the goal of providing a platform for scientists and academicians all over the world to promote, share, and discuss various new issues and developments in different areas of aging research.

The researchers, including Regula Robnett, Ph.D., OTR/L, professor of occupational therapy (OT) and associate director of CEAH, and second year COM students Dan Thai, Stephen Cheng, and Dechen Tuladhar, sought to capture COVID-related attitudes and behaviors of older adults and relate them to views of adolescents.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented extraordinary challenges that have tested the resolve of the world and transformed our daily lives. Attitudes vary within and between age groups.

In their paper, Exploring Cross Generational COVID-19 Attitudes and Behaviors, the researchers found older respondents tended to report congruent attitudes concerning COVID-19 risks and associated preventative behaviors. Most reported taking Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance seriously. Adolescents surveyed in a prior study reported similar adherence but less concern. The study built upon important work with adolescent respondents that was completed early in the pandemic.

Future research could focus more on the psychological impact of the pandemic and the coping skills of different age groups.

Many of the older respondents were linked with UNE through CEAH’s Legacy Scholars Program

Tom Meuser, Ph.D., director of the CEAH, and OT alum McGyver Poulin also contributed to the study.