Elise Freeman

Bio & Education

Dr. Elise Eifert is the Director of the Gerontology Program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she also serves as Director of Emeritus Society.  She holds a Ph.D. in Public Health Education and a Graduate Certificate in Gerontology from UNC Greensboro, as well as degrees in Health Promotion from Indiana University and Health Education from Southern Illinois University. Her teaching and research focus on aging, family caregiving, and health promotion, with a particular interest in how individuals transition into the caregiver role and its impact on identity and service utilization. Dr. Eifert has published extensively on caregiving, dementia, and aging-related issues and co-edited Dementia and Memory: Introduction for Professionals in Health and Human Services. She is actively engaged in lifelong learning initiatives and community-based programs that promote healthy aging and intergenerational connections.  

Courses Taught

• GRO 651 – Theoretical Foundations of Aging 
• GRO 570 – Social Services for the Aging 
• GRO 631 – Program Planning and Evaluation for Professionals in Aging 
• GRO 613 – Elder Family Care 
• GRO 612 – Leadership Development for Professionals in Aging 

Research Interest

• Family Caregiver Identity  
• Lifelong Learning  
• Gerontology Education  
• Online Pedagogy  

Selected Publications

• Eifert, E.K., Eddy, J.M., Dudley, W., Adams, R., & Perko, M. (2020). Preliminary evidence for the validity of the Family Caregiver Identity Scale. Journal of Applied Gerontology. 40(7), 742-751. doi: 10.1177/0733464819896573.  

• Eifert, E.K., Hall, M., Smith, P.H., & Wideman, L. (2019). Quality of Life as a Mediator of Leisure Activity and Perceived Health Among Older Woman. Journal of Women & Aging, 5, 1-21.  

• Eifert, E.K., Tappen, R., & Curtis, B. (2017). A qualitative study on differences in satisfaction with services between short and long term clients at a dementia-specific adult day center. Activities, Adaption, & Aging, 42(3), 173-196.  

• Eifert, E.K, Adams, R., Morrison, S., & Strack, R. (2016).  Emerging trends in family caregiving using the Life Course Perspective: Preparing health educators for an aging society. American Journal of Health Education, 47(3), 176-197.  

• Eifert, E.K., Adams, R., Dudley, W., & Perko, M.  (2015). Family caregiver identity: A literature review.  American Journal of Health Education, 46(6), 357-367.