Aging in Place: The Care Challenge

Around the world, most people, when asked, say that as they age they want to stay at home in their own community rather than move into an institution. This preference raises a challenge once people need additional care and assistance: how can it be provided? Much work has focused on maintaining people’s health and increasing the supply of caregivers, but this session examines how environments might be supportive and provide settings for both mutual support among older adults and care technologies.

In this webinar, Professor Ann Forsyth examines aging in place through the lens of the built environment. Moving beyond traditional approaches focused on health maintenance and caregiver supply, she explores how physical environments can support older adults and address the care challenges of an aging population.

This event is free and open to the public and will include time for audience Q&A.

Register

Speaker

Ann Forsyth, PhD, MA
Ruth and Frank Stanton Professor of Urban Planning, Harvard University

Trained in planning and architecture, Ann Forsyth is a professor of urban planning at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, focusing on the social aspects of physical planning and urban development. The big issue behind her research and practice is how to make more sustainable and healthy cities. Professor Forsyth’s current research focuses on developing healthier places in a suburbanizing world, with overlapping emphases on aging and planned communities. Her education includes a B.Sc. in architecture from the University of Sydney, M.A. in urban planning from UCLA, and Ph.D. in city and regional planning from Cornell.

About the Global Research and Innovation Speaker Series

The Harvard Global Health Institute’s Global Health Research and Innovation Speaker Series showcases the latest scholarly and scientific advancements in global health across Harvard and beyond, to make cutting-edge research accessible to a diverse global audience, and to spark innovative solutions in the pursuit of health equity and improved health outcomes worldwide. The public series takes place virtually on the second Tuesday of each month from 12:00 to 12:45 pm ET. Each session will include a presentation by a featured speaker showcasing their innovative research in global health, followed by a moderated Q&A.

The Harvard Global Health Institute provides a platform for different perspectives and debates within the field of global health through a variety of media. The views expressed in these events and programs are solely those of the speakers, authors, researchers, and participating audience. As such, they do not speak for the institute or the university.