APA?s Committee on Aging sets its priorities

Expanding funding for geropsychological research and recommending appropriate standards of care for the elderly are just some of the objectives of APA?s new Committee on Aging (CONA). APA?s Council of Representatives established the committee last year to help ensure that psychologists address the needs of elderly adults, particularly older women and ethnic minorities. APA Past President Norm Abeles, PhD, supported efforts to establish the committee.

According to CONA chair Steve Zarit, PhD, this year the six-member committee plans to:

? Urge officials from the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies that provide training slots for psychologists to expand geropsychology training opportunities.

? Work with APA?s Science Directorate to make sure Congress provides adequate funding for research on psychological issues involving the elderly.

? Help APA staff identify people who can testify before Congress about legislation or issues that affect the elderly, such as Medicare coverage for mental health care.

The committee also will try to become involved in national and international activities, such as helping the United Nations plan activities around the International Year of Aging in 1999, says Zarit, a professor at Pennsylvania State University. The committee will also make sure that APA pays attention to the interests of its own aging members, he adds.

Other CONA members include Michael Duffy, PhD, of Texas A&M University; Margaret Gatz, PhD, of the University of Southern California; Jacqueline D. Goodchilds, PhD, of the University of California at Los Angeles; Manuel Miranda, PhD, of California State University; and Anderson Dodd Smith, PhD, of the Georgia Institute of Technology.

?Scott Sleek