Wellness, Aging, & Occupation
Director:
Jodi M. Winship, PhD, OTR/L
Assistant Professor
Department of Occupational Therapy
Research Affiliations:
- VCU Institute for Inclusion, Inquiry and Innovation, Health and Wellness in Aging Populations Core
- Richmond Health and Wellness Program
The mission of the Wellness, Aging, and Occupation (WAO) lab is to improve wellness and support aging in place for low-income older adults. The WAO lab operates not out of a physical space, rather the lab is the community. With an emphasis on community engaged research methodologies, as well as community- (rather than clinic-) based practice, the WAO lab is focused on translating evidence-based-intervention into low-income community settings. As a member of a transdisciplinary team of health researchers, Dr. Winship brings an occupational perspective in understanding and addressing the complex needs of a unique, but growing, population of older adults. Dr. Winship is particularly interested in how the occupational perspective on health can inform and guide interprofessional interventions to support health and wellness.
In the News:
Healthier together: Confronting loneliness and health care challenges among older adults.
By Paul Brockman, Jr. VCU News, April 9, 2021
Current Collaborations:
Voice2Connect (Co-Investigator, R03 National Institute on Aging, 2020-2022)
The goal of this qualitative project is to examine how smart speaker technologies can support the needs of older adults living alone in low-income senior housing communities and to identify potential features and functionalities of smart speakers that can address the issue of social isolation in this population.
The Lived Experience of COVID19 for Older Adults (Co-Investigator, Phase 1: VCU COVID-Rapid Response Grant, 2020; Phase 2: Senior Connections and Resources for Independent Living, 2021)
The purpose of this mixed-method study is to explore the lived experience of older low-income adults residing in the Richmond community during the COVID-19 pandemic; in particular it seeks to increase understanding of how COVID-19 is impacting low income older adults in relation to poverty, racial disparities and health disparities, and other social determinants of health.
The Richmond Health and Wellness Program: Supporting Wellness and Aging Needs (Co-Investigator, AARP Foundation Grant, 2020-2022)
The goal of this project is to develop, implement, and evaluate an evidence-based pathway to increase social connectedness and improve health self-management and self-efficacy among independent living, low-income seniors.
Geriatric Workforce Education Program (Plenary Board, HRSA Grant, 2019-2024)
Funded through the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Virginia Geriatric Education Center (VGEC) is an interdisciplinary consortium of four partnering universities and many community partners with the mission to improve the interprofessional education and training of health professionals in Virginia through faculty development, continuing education, and the clinical training of students in geriatrics.
Selected Publications:
Chung, J., Bleich, M., Wheeler, D., Winship, J., McDowell, B., Baker, D., and Parsons, P. (2021). Attitudes and perceptions toward voice-operated smart speakers among low-income senior housing residents: Comparison of pre- and post-installation surveys. Gerontology & Geriatric Medicine, 7(1-9) (7): 1-9. DOI: 10.1177/23337214211005869
Winship, J.M., Falls, K., Gregory, M., Peron, E.P., Donohoe, K.L., Sargent, L., Slattum, P.W., Chung, J., Tyler, C.M., Diallo, A., Battle, K., and Parsons, P. (2020). A case study in rapid adaptation of interprofessional education and remote visits during COVID-19. Journal of Interprofessional Care. DOI: 10.1080/13561820.2020.1807921
Sargent, L., Slattum, P., Brooks, M., Gendron, T., Mackiewicz, M., Diallo, A., Waters, L., Winship, J., Battle, K., Ford, G., Falls, K., Chung, J., Zanjani, F., Pretzer-Aboff, I., Price, E. T., Prom-Wormley, E., & Parsons, P. (2020). Bringing Transdisciplinary Aging Research from Theory to Practice. The Gerontologist, gnaa214. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnaa21
Winship, J.M., Ivey, C.K. and Etz, R.S. (2019). Opportunities for occupational therapy on a primary care team. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 73(5). DOI: https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2019.030841