Aetna Group Insurance Announced Award Recipients at American Public Health Association Meeting
Research projects focus on older women and public health
HARTFORD, Conn., November 19, 2002 — Aetna Group Insurance, a division of Aetna Inc. (NYSE: ΑET), and the Gerontological Health Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA) announced the 2002 recipients of The Aetna Susan B. Anthony Award for Excellence in Research for Older Women and Public Health. Aetna and APHA cosponsor this annual awards program to honor individuals whose research has made significant differences in the lives of older women. Award recipients were recognized recently at the 130th APHA Annual Meeting, held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
"As we celebrate the third year of the Aetna-sponsored awards program, we recognize the significant contributions researchers have made to improving health care and encouraging preventive practices for older women," said Marcia Ory, Ph.D., M.P.H., and chairwoman of the selection committee. "We are grateful that Aetna shares our concern for women's health issues and look forward to working together to identify older women at risk for health problems and developing new programs for older women."
"Aetna is proud to sponsor a program that recognizes researchers who improve health services for older women often in underserved areas," said Janet Kennedy, vice president, Long Term Care Division, Aetna Group Insurance. "Because the majority of primary caregivers are women, women face challenging health care issues as both the providers and recipients of care. Aetna is concerned about their health status and wants to reward researchers who help to improve women's health."
The award was created through a $50,000 endowment provided by Aetna in conjunction with the Gerontological Health Section of the APHA to recognize the best research on older women and public health. One of the primary goals of the award program is to recognize research that leads to better awareness of health risks, the design of preventive health and screening programs, medical treatments and public health interventions that will help older women as health care consumers and caregivers.
Paulo H.M. Chaves, M.D., Ph.D, is the 2002 winner for his research on anemia and its physiological effects on older women. Through his research, Dr. Chaves, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Schools of Medicine and Public Health, found that older women need different criteria for determining higher hemoglobin levels than the current standard. Dr. Chaves' research will lead to more effective anemia-related screening and treatment.
Three individuals received honorable mention for their research projects. They include:
Arlene S. Ash, Ph.D., Boston University School of Medicine and School of Public Health, for "Sex and Race Disparities in Pre-AMI Diagnosis: Missed Opportunities?"
Madalina C. Chirieac, M.D., M.P.H., University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, for "Gender Differences in Depression and Chronic Pain in Older Adults"
Joseph R. Sharkey, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.D., Texas A&M University System Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health at College Station, TX, and University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill, School of Public Health, for "Physical Performance, Body Composition and Dietary Intake in Homebound Older Women"
Aetna is one of the nation's leading providers of health care and related group benefits, serving approximately 13.9 million medical members, 11.9 million dental members and 11.7 million group insurance customers, as of September 30, 2002. The company has expansive nationwide networks of more than 539,000 health care services providers, including over 327,000 primary care and specialist physicians and 3,300 hospitals. For more information about Aetna, please visit the company's website at www.aetna.com.
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