UB nursing faculty Yu-Ping Chang honored for research on aging

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Yu-Ping Chang, PhD, associate professor and associate dean for research and scholarship in the University at Buffalo School of Nursing, was named a fellow of the Health Sciences Section of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA).

The status of fellow, the highest class of membership within the society, recognizes individuals for their outstanding research, teaching, practice and public service in the field of gerontology.

The GSA is the world’s largest and oldest interdisciplinary organization devoted to aging research, education and practice. Chang is among 94 professionals who were inducted as fellows during the GSA’s 2016 Annual Scientific Meeting Nov. 16-20.

“I have learned so much by conducting aging research and training, and it is a rewarding and inspiring experience to work with older adults,” says Chang.

“Aging research is a needed area of study as our global society grows older. Caregiving – both by family caregivers and professional caregivers – plays an important role in maintaining the well-being, independence and functionality of older people with chronic conditions. We need to come up with strategies to enhance the entire caregiving system in the community through research, education, training and policy.”

Chang’s research focuses on depression, substance abuse, prescription medication use in older adults, and caregiving and medication management for individuals with dementia.

She has published numerous journal articles in the field of geriatric psychiatry. Her recent studies have delved into the use of behavioral counseling as an effective tool to curb prescription opioid abuse, and the heavy impact of culture on decisions by Chinese families to place relatives in nursing homes.

She is currently studying prescription opioid misuse and complex co-existing health conditions in older adults, the physical and psychosocial well-being in family caregivers of people with dementia, and issues related to the delivery of person-centered care in long-term care facilities.

Chang earned a doctorate in nursing from Saint Louis University, and both a master’s degree in psychiatric and mental health nursing and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Kaohsiung Medical University in Taiwan.