AAGE is pleased to announce the results of the 2017-2018 Margaret Clark  Award Competition. This award supports the continued pursuit of work following the example of Margaret Clark, a pioneer in the multidisciplinary study of socio-cultural gerontology and medical anthropology, and a scholar committed to mentoring younger colleagues.  We received a number of excellent submissions – it was challenging for our judges to choose amongst them!  Essays were judged on four criteria: originality and timeliness of topic; effective use of theory and evidence; significance to anthropological studies of aging; clear and effective writing and organization.

Please join us to celebrate the winners of this competition at the AAGE/Aging & the Lifecourse Interest Group Business meeting, held in conjunction with the AAA annual meetings on Saturday Nov. 17 from 2-3:30pm in the Hillsborough Room (Fairmont Hotel, San Jose CA).

UNDERGRADUATE COMPETITION:

Olivia Silva, McGill University.  (With co-authors Dr. Ariel Cascio, Dr. Eric Racine, ICRM)

“Person-oriented research ethics for studies involving elderly participants with dementia”

Abstract:

Research ethics extends beyond obtaining initial approval from research ethics boards. The person-oriented research ethics (PORE) framework provides guidelines for understanding ongoing ethics throughout the tasks of a research project. It focuses primarily on the relational and experiential aspects of research ethics. Given the widespread impact of dementia and the ethical challenges dementia research present, conducting meaningful, ethical research is of high importance. This review examined existing literature for commentary on ethics practices in dementia research in the context of the PORE framework. We used a critical interpretive literature review with systematic sampling to examine publications from 2013 to 2017 inclusive. We found significant discussion pertaining to the PORE framework, but there was a lack of unanimous conclusions. This level of inconclusive discussion among scholars indicates uncertainty in ethically including participants with dementia in research. We suggest furthering research in this field to construct an accessible, easy-to-use set of guidelines for researchers that will assist in putting PORE ethics into practice in dementia research.

GRADUATE COMPETITION:

Rose Keimig, Yale University (Ph.D. Dec. 2017)

“Chronic Living and Delayed Death in Chinese Eldercare Institutions”

In urban China, demographic shifts, medical interventions, and technological advancements are reshaping how, when, and where elders live and die. Within institutions, end-of-life interventions may stave off death, but have little to offer for those who are saved but not cured.  Meanwhile, these end-of-life encounters are unfolding within a larger caregiving landscape that is itself in transition. Increased migration, urbanization, women’s employment rates, and access to medical services are radically altering caregiving arrangements. In particular, sharp declines in fertility have sapped family-based caregiving resources and put enormous pressure on medical institutions. Although China is just beginning to feel the effects of rapid population aging, demand for end-of-life institutional care has already outstripped supply. The few palliative care wards that exist routinely turn away patients, admitting only those whose end is predictably, certainly, soon. In the process, dying becomes a diagnosis, complicated by insurance regulations, local bioethics, and limited resources. For those cut off from both curative and palliative care, life itself turns pathological, and they find themselves suspended in a state of what I call “chronic living.”

Honorable Mentions:

• Aalyia Feroz Ali Sadruddin (Yale University) “Men, Love, and Aging in Contemporary Rwanda”
• Laura Meek (University of California, Davis) “Bibi’s Uchungu (Grief): Inter-corporeal & Inter-generational Relationality in Tanzania”

We would also like to acknowledge and thank the award competition judges:

Undergraduate: Samantha Solimeo, University of Iowa & Iowa City VA

Anna Corwin, St. Mary’s College

Graduate:           Ben Kasstan, University of Sussex

Aaron Seaman, University of Iowa

Sarah Lamb, Brandeis University

Janelle Taylor, University of Washington

About the author

Emily Wentzell

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