Description/Mission Statement

The Aging Special Interest Group aims to use behavioral science to understand and enhance people’s health, well-being, and functioning as they age.

Goals:

• To examine the influence of psychosocial, cultural, environmental, and policy factors on aging-related processes and health in older adulthood.
• To address behavioral factors that contribute to common chronic conditions among older adults, including multiple comorbid conditions, cognitive problems, and geriatric syndromes.
• To address special issues of behavior change among older adults, in order to maximize their benefits from behavioral interventions.
• To promote the inclusion of diverse older adults in behavioral research.
• To foster collaboration on aging research among SIG members and across SBM.
   

Areas of expertise among Aging SIG members:
A snapshot of our members’ aging research expertise includes:

• Physical activity and other lifestyle factors
• Cognitive health
• Care partner well-being
• Community engagement
• Implementation science
• Intervention development
• Digital health
   

SIG leadership positions:
Co-chairs (2023-2024)

• Outgoing Co-Chair: Meghan Mattos, PhD, RN, CNL, University of Virginia
• Current Co-Chair:  Heather Derry-Vick, PhD, Hackensack Meridian Health
• Incoming Co-Chair: Ryan Mace, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School

Communications and Collaborations Chair

• 2022-2024 Communications and Collaborations Chair: Madhura Phansikar, PhD, MS, MA, The Ohio State University

Student Liaison

• 2022-2025 Student Liaison: Michelle Jaldin, MPH, University of Illinois at Chicago

Awards

The Aging SIG offers awards for excellent aging research at SBM.

• Outstanding Student Research in Aging Award: Acknowledges high-caliber aging-related student research at SBM
• Promoting Health Equity in Aging Award: Recognizes high-caliber research that advances health equity in aging
• Local Innovator Award: Honors a local organization conducting high-impact work relevant to the advancement of older adult behavior change

The call for applications is typically announced in the Winter, and awardees are recognized at the SBM Annual Meeting.

Recent Aging SIG award recipients:

Outstanding Student Research in Aging Award
2023 - Ellen Park, BA – Clinical Research Coordinator, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
“A qualitative meta-synthesis of psychosocial stressors experienced by persons with dementia and caregivers during COVID-19”

Promoting Health Equity in Aging Award
2023 - Ana Laura Selzer Ninomiya, MS – Doctoral student in Kinesiology, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign​
“Opportunities and challenges promoting moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in Brazil: Findings from a large behavioral change program”​

Recent Aging SIG Highlights

Recent symposia and panels by Aging SIG members:

• "Community-Engaged Research for Health Promotion in Diverse Aging Populations: Strategies, Benefits, and Lessons Learned" by Dr. Siobhan McMahon, Dr. Stacey Schepens Niemiec, Dr. Maja Pedersen, Dr. Barbara Resnick, and Dr. Sandra Winter; SBM 2023 annual meeting
• "Latinos' Engagement in Behavioral Medicine Trials: Fostering Success" by Dr. Maria Quiñones-Cordero, Dr. Kathi Heffner, Dr. David Marquez, Dr. Ulf Bronas, and Dr. Larkin Strong; SBM 2023 annual meeting 
• "Multiple Approaches and Targets to Health Promotion for Older Adults' Health and Well-Being" by Dr. Ryan Mace, Dr. Kathi Heffner, Dr. Beth Orsega-Smith, Dr. Nancy Gell, and Dr. Meghan Mattos; SBM 2023 annual meeting
• "Remote Assessment of Physical Performance in Older Cancer Survivors: Challenges, Lessons Learned, and Research Applications" by Dr. Cindy Blair, Dr. Kerri Winters-Stone, Dr. Wendy Demark-Wahnefried, and Dr. Laura Rogers; SBM 2023 annual meeting
• “Multidisciplinary Approaches to Enhancing Health Promotion Skills in Older Adults” by Dr. Ryan Mace, Dr. Laura Traeger, Dr. Stacey Schepens-Niemiec, and Dr. Beth Orsega-Smith; SBM 2022 annual meeting
• “Adapting and Evolving our Methods in Intervention Development for Older Adults: Lessons Learned from the Global Pandemic” by Dr. Jaime Hughes, Dr. Heather Derry-Vick, and Dr. Kathi Heffner; SBM 2022 annual meeting

Other recent events

• “How to Communicate your Science to the Public” Series presented in May-June 2021 in collaboration with the Student SIG
• “Job portfolio mentoring and feedback session”Small group discussion series in Spring 2021
• “Strategies for effective conference presentations for SBM students and trainees”Webinar presented in Spring 2020

Peer-reviewed articles from the Aging SIG:

• Mace, R. A., Mattos, M. K., Vranceanu, A. (2022). Older adults can use technology: why healthcare professionals must overcome ageism in digital health. Translational Behavioral Medicine, 12(12),1102-1105. doi: 10.1093/tbm/ibac070

Healthy Living articles from the Aging SIG:

These recent articles, written by Aging SIG members for older adults and their loved ones, highlight useful take-aways from behavioral research:

• "Do older people need less sleep?"
• "A little movement is better than none: How small micro-workouts can have a big impact"
• “COVID-Safe Winter Physical Activity Ideas: A Special Focus on Older Adults”
• “Caring for an Older Adult? How to Detect Delirium in Your Loved One, and What You Can Do”
• “Physical Activity for Older Adults: It’s Never too Late to Improve Your Health”
• “Aging with HIV: Four Tips for Older Adults with HIV”
• “Insomnia in Older Adults: Tips to Master Sleep as We Age”

Opportunities to engage with the Aging SIG:

1. Join us as a member of the SIG!
   • Here are instructions for how to join a SIG:
     • Log in to the Members Only section.
     • Click My Profile.
     • Edit the SIG section under the Professional tab.
     • If you have questions or difficulty, email info@sbm.org.
   • By doing so, you will automatically receive listserv emails and invitations to our SIG meetings.
      
2. Attend a SIG meeting to get to know our members.
   • Information for our quarterly SIG meetings is sent to our member listserv. If you have any questions or would like to drop-in, please feel free to email the co-chairs for the meeting information.
      
3. Connect with the Aging SIG on social media.
   • Our Twitter account (@SBMAgingSIG) highlights Aging SIG members’ work, recent aging research, aging-related funding opportunities and professional development resources, and more.
      
4. Check out Healthy Living articles on aging and/or share them with a colleague, friend, or loved one.
    
5. Connect with the Aging SIG at the annual SBM conference.
   • Submit an aging-related abstract to the annual SBM conference, and/or collaborate with an Aging SIG member on a submission.
   • Attend Aging-track posters and talks at the conference to learn about the latest aging research in behavioral medicine and meet our members!
   • Say hello at our SIG Breakfast Meeting and networking events.