Abrahamson named fellow of national gerontological society
The Gerontological Society of America selected Kathleen Abrahamson, an associate professor of nursing, as a 2016 fellow for her innovative research with elders in long-term care.
Abrahamson worked as a nurse in a long-term care facility for 11 years before earning her doctoral degree in sociology. This yielded a combination of skills and experience that positions her well to study quality-improvement efforts at long-term care organizations.
She currently has a two-year contract with the Indiana State Department of Health to address concerns related to polypharmacy, the use of multiple medications in a patient’s treatment. The project includes a state and regional campaign involving doctors, pharmacists, academics, patients and families to improve prescribing practices and to create infrastructure to support quality-improvement efforts in the state. Abrahamson is collaborating with engineers at Purdue’s Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering on the project.
Her past work includes state policy evaluations for the Minnesota Performance-based Incentive Payment Program and a study in Indianapolis of the person-centered interdisciplinary sub-acute care model.
Abrahamson also received the 2016 College of Health and Human Sciences Early Career Research Award in recognition of her scientific and scholarly contributions to the field.