Leveraging Implementation Science to Develop and Scale a Patient-Centered Platform to Support Aging in Place

Thursday, April 25, 2024

Jaime M. Hughes, PhD, MPH, MSW
Assistant Professor
Wake Forest University School of Medicine

About the Webinar:

Within the next few decades, approximately one in five adults living in the United States will be age 65 years or older. Aging in place is a shared priority for many older adults, caregivers, healthcare providers, and policymakers alike. Maintaining functional independence is a necessary component of aging in place. However, tools to address modifiable determinants of function independence, including healthy sleep-activity behaviors, are not always readily available with routine clinical settings. Given the continued growth of the older adult population, the rapid yet rigorous development and dissemination of effective tools to promote functional independence is warranted. This presentation will provide an overview of major implementation science frameworks, methods, and outcomes to aid interdisciplinary teams looking to develop and evaluate scalable and sustainable mobile and digital health interventions to promote aging in place. Specifically, this presentation will share ongoing work from a team-based project to develop and refine PATINA, a comprehensive patient-centered platform to guide primary care providers in monitoring and modifying older adults’ activity behaviors within routine clinical encounters.

About Jaime Hughes:

Jaime Hughes is an Assistant Professor at Wake Forest University School of Medicine with appointments in the Department of Implementation Science and Section of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine. A behavioral interventionist turned implementation scientist, Dr. Hughes works at the intersection of intervention science and implementation science to develop effective yet scalable health promotion programs for older adults and other complex patients. She has a particular interest in the use of both research-grade and commercially available wearables to monitor and modify sleep and activity behaviors within older adult patient populations, including individuals with cognitive and functional limitations. Some of her current work focuses on the integration of research-informed Ecological Momentary Assessment-based programs into the electronic medical record for widespread use across large healthcare systems. More about Jaime Hughes.