Mayra Sanchez Gonzalez
Johns Hopkins University, MD·Public Health & Epidemiology·Early-career
Many older adults live with two or more chronic conditions at once, a situation called multimorbidity, and it often lowers their quality of life. Multimorbidity is becoming more common among older Hispanic adults.
- Fields
Public Health & Epidemiology
Medicine & Clinical Research
Psychology
- Topics
multimorbidity
chronic conditions
older adults
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Oct 2030
What they work on
- Identify social connection factors linked to good management of multiple chronic conditions among Hispanic adults aged 50 and older, through in-depth interviews with 30 participants.
- Adapt the Positive Minds-Strong Bodies intervention into Healthier Together, a version focused on strengthening social connections, in partnership with a community advisory board of patients, caregivers, health navigators and clinicians.
- Evaluate Healthier Together in a pilot randomized controlled trial of 50 older Hispanic adults, measuring implementation outcomes first and exploring early effects on quality of life.
More about the research
People with low incomes are hit hardest, yet they appear to benefit less from existing programs. People tend to manage their health better when they feel socially connected. However, chronic illness, social stressors and communities with limited support services can leave older Hispanic adults isolated. This career development project asks how social connection can help them live well with multimorbidity.
Why it matters
Older Hispanic adults with multiple chronic conditions, especially those with low incomes, face functional limits and psychological distress, and current programs serve them less well. A socially focused program like Healthier Together could help them manage their conditions and improve quality of life. The pilot results would also lay groundwork for larger trials in low-income aging communities.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
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Aprill Dawson
Medical College of Wisconsin, WI·Medicine & Clinical Research
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Neil Charness
Weill Medical College of Cornell University, NY·Psychology
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The school
Johns Hopkins University: 100 labs on PI Pages, $4.1B a year on research, 622 research doctorates a year.
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