NewsRelease

Nurse Gerontologist Receives $100,000 Hartford Foundation Fellowship

GREENSBORO — Emelia Amoako, a gerontological nurse practitioner and lecturer in the School of Nursing at The
University of North Carolina at Greensboro, has received funding for research focusing on improving care for older minority adults with diabetes and other chronic diseases.

Supported by a $100,000 pre-doctoral fellowship from the John A. Hartford Foundation, Amoako is continuing her research and development of new strategies aimed at helping diabetic older African-American women avoid the complications that can result from not managing the disease properly.

Among minorities, diabetes has reached epidemic proportions, with one in four older African-American women over the age of 55 suffering from the disease. A disproportionate number of older minorities also suffer disability, health complications and poorer health outcomes as a result of diabetes than the majority population, often because people in this population lack information about how best to manage their condition.

Amoako’s goal is to develop and test interventions to assist chronically ill older African-Americans to better manage their conditions, thereby improving their quality of life. Through research and teaching, she also hopes to influence clinical practice and improve care for minority older adults with any chronic disease, thereby contributing to the nursing field’s ability to meet the growing healthcare needs of a diverse and aging population.

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