Health Integration and Healthy Aging Scholarly Concentration

Modern health care is an ever-changing landscape. Future physicians must learn to deliver high quality, cost-effective care within health systems through health care integration. This concentration is based on health systems science, which emerged as the “third science” in medicine after basic and clinical sciences. With an emphasis on patient-centered care, it focuses on improving outcomes while reducing costs of health care for patients/populations in a community setting. Topics include value-based care, care integration/coordination, and health care policy/leadership examined through the lens of healthy aging. Students with interests in any specialty will benefit from this concentration. Research projects may include adoption of new technology, managing complex health issues, health care policy studies, or health system integration to improve health care delivery.

Locations

Concentration coursework can be completed online. The scholarly project work occurs in Fort Wayne or Indianapolis.

Curriculum and Timeline

Students completing this concentration complete the same core curriculum as students in other concentrations. The didactic components provide a strong academic and experiential foundation in public health, and an understanding of patient-centered care through the lens of healthy aging that students can further explore in the concentration project and product. The journal club provides a platform for students to have longitudinal discussions about concentration-related topics with a cohort of students and faculty.

Topic-Specific Course

Introduction to Public Health

Health System Integration in the Context of Healthy Aging

Journal Club

Core Curriculum

Foundations of Translational Research

Scholarly Concentration Project

Scholarly Concentration Product

Recommended Pathway

This table shows that the first two topic specific courses should be completed during the summer between the first and second year of med school. The third and fourth topic specific courses should begin between the first and second year of med school and conclude on or before phase one in year two. The two remaining courses, project and product, are also longitudinal. Both should begin between the first and second year of med school and conclude on or before the end of fourth year.

Students determine if a concentration pathway will fit in their schedule by contacting concentration co-directors.

Scholarly Project Topic Examples

Students work with faculty to complete a project in a relevant topic based on student interests. Students are welcome to come up with their own project idea. Potential project topics include, but are not limited to:

Population (such as ethnicity or gender) differences in the effect of aging on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
Integrated management of age-related co-morbidity complications associated with cardiovascular and/or neurological disease.
Efficacy of Health Systems Integration approach on the management of complex patient populations including acute stroke patients in a Comprehensive Stroke Center, patients with high usage rates of ER, and opioid addiction, etc.
Tele-stroke physician video consults for acute stroke management of 25 regional hospitals integrating EMS, physicians from emergency medicine, neurology, radiology, critical care, rehabilitation, neurosurgery and neuro-endovascular-intervention.
Integrative fall prevention in the aging population involving PT, OT, social work, pharmacy, nursing, geriatrics, and neurology.
Patient-centered management of polypharmacy in the aged patient. Aged population compliance issues in preventive health care.
Integrative care of the neurodegenerative disease patient. Impact of socioeconomic factors and policies in elder health care.
Outcomes of a structured interdisciplinary intervention in physical and cognitive competence and psychosocial health of the aging population. Aging and its impact on health policies and society.

Student Testimonials

Sam Stegelmann, Class of 2022

How will your participation in the Health Integration and Healthy Aging Scholarly Concentration contribute to your overall career aspirations in medicine?

I was impressed by the diversity of education I received through this program. I initially thought it would revolve around an academic research opportunity, but I quickly discovered that the curriculum was much more comprehensive, with established coursework in public health, didactic components, journal clubs, and other projects along the way that created an interactive, lasting education. My concentration in was diverse enough to truly apply to any field I would wish to pursue. This program has taught me how much of health care occurs out of the office or operating room, and I will carry this knowledge and skillset with me as I advance throughout my career.
Michael Weber, Class of 2024

Why did you choose to participate in the Health Integration and Healthy Aging Scholarly Concentration program?

I’m interested in the physical, emotional and psychological changes that occur as people age and how health care systems might improve to optimize well-being throughout the stages of life. Participating in this scholarly concentration will help me become a better member of an interprofessional health care team, as well as gain a stronger understanding of the unique needs of an aging population.

Co-Directors

Robert D. Sweazey, PhD

Assistant Director, IUSM-Fort Wayne

Bio and Contact Information

Leslie A. Hoffman, PhD, MS

Associate Professor of Clinical Anatomy, Cell Biology & Physiology

Bio and Contact Information

map shows the location of the healthy aging concentration in fort wayne

MD Student News

In their words: Scholarly Concentration Q&A with Health Integration and Healthy Aging co-directors

Robert Sweazey, PhD, and Leslie Hoffman, PhD, share details on the Health Integration and Healthy Aging Scholarly Concentration, which focuses on improving outcomes while reducing costs of healthcare for patients in a community setting.

IU School of Medicine | Feb 11, 2019